Written by: Richard Volzke on June 27, 2014

This week’s reading directly illustrated the fact that religion is being removed from culture across the globe. Eagleton begins by referencing a 2011 survey from Britain which concluded that, “61 per cent of the respondents claimed to have a religion, but only 29 per cent of them claimed to be religious.”[1] I’m not sure if the survey was for Christianity or religion as a whole, and I would like to further understand the questions that the survey asked the respondents. Just as in Britain, many people in the U.S. would classify themselves as part of a religious group. For example, in Christian circles people commonly defined themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or evangelicals. Although many individuals identify with their religious upbringing, they often do not practice or act out their faith.

Eagleton discusses the Age of Enlightenment and they way that that the period affected religion’s role in a culture. During this period, man moved away from religion as the center of understanding, and moved towards science, reason, and human understanding.  Science was explored to answer questions surrounding the purpose of man and why are man exists.  Eagleton quoted Frank Manuel’s remark, ‘in both their belief and their disbelief, men of the Enlightenment were profoundly agitated by religion as an exploration of human nature’.[2]  Just as in the age of Enlightenment, people in today’s culture reject religion as a means of defining human nature. “Reason, nature, Geist, culture, art, the sublime, the nation, the state, science, humanity, being, society, the other, desire, the life force and personal relations: all of these have acted from time to time as forms of displaced divinity.”[3]

During the medieval period in history, there was a movement from identifying oneself by traditional religion to individual experience through one’s belief or faith in God. The author stated that, “in medieval times, the relevant term was not ‘religion’ but ‘faith’.”[4] Martin Luther and others spoke out against the “corporate” institution of the church and encouraged individuals to a personal faith experience. While this aspect of the age of Enlightenment was good for the individual, it was bad for the corporate influence that the church had over culture. From this period in time until today, the influence that religion has played within culture has steadily diminished throughout the centuries.  Many view religion as historic tradition “with its sacred icons, revered traditions, symbolic solidarities, liturgical assemblies and pantheon of heroes, which is the opium of the people.”[5]

Overall, I believe that Eagleton provided great insight into the way that Christian religion has been systematically removed from relevant or popular culture.  This has occurred at both the corporate and individual levels, and is evidenced in the U.S. today with the overall decline in membership numbers across mainline denominations.

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Richard Volzke