Will the "Great Emergence" Be Our Legacy?

Todd Culbertson raises the idea of a religious revolution in his article “Will Mass Media Unleash Christianity's Next Reformation?” Culbertson discusses mass media as a potential mechanism for a pivotal change in the nature of religion, specifically that worship may become more focused on spirituality rather than organized religious services. He cites scholars’ opinions that the prevalence of outlets for religion in the mass media has led to the “redefining of ‘community,’ ‘conversation,’ and ‘church’” (Culbertson par. 3). Noting that “according to the timelines, our age should witness another eruption of the new, which [author Phyllis] Tickle and others identify as the Great Emergence,” Culbertson suggests that our modern mass media could spark the kind of drastic reformation that Gutenberg was able to facilitate with the introduction of printed Bibles (Culbertson par. 6). The mass media, Culbertson argues, could take on the same kind of role that the Gutenberg Bibles did: “bibles printed in the vernacular and distributed widely loosened the priesthood's hold. People read and decided for themselves.” (Culbertson par. 9). But the most important aspect of the possibility of this “Great Emergence” is its potential impact on politics. As Culbertson points out, “Religion is not an island. The upheavals affecting it affect economics, politics, science, and just about everything” (Culbertson, par. 9).

The kind of social and political changes following the sort of drastic religious realignments with respect to doctrine and nature of worship are significant and cannot be ignored. All we have to do is look at how the climate changed after the Great Schism and Reformation, as Culbertson mentions. If this “Great Emergence” does occur, the ramifications will be widespread and could revolutionize our political system. If you think we have an issue separating religion from politics now, imagine what it could be like under the condition of the “Great Emergence.”

The real question at hand is whether a more accessible form of Christianity (although one could make the argument that similar “Great Emergences” are occurring within other religions) would give rise to Religious Right-esque groups. One of the strongest arguments in support of an intersection of religion and politics is that religious groups function as interest groups and have as much of a right to actively pursue roles in politics as any other group (whether they are racial groups, economic groups, environmental groups, etc.). So if the “Great Emergence” does occur and in the form in which scholars are expecting--that Christianity will become a less formal religion and a freer, more spiritual religion (in regards to style of worship)--then undoubtedly existing religious “interest groups” will fracture into smaller, more focused groups even as new groups emerge and establish themselves. While our pluralistic interest group system will prevent any of these groups from gaining an inordinate amount of power, the competition among them will blur the line between religion and politics even more than it already has.

Obviously if these groups were to emerge, it would threaten the American political system as we know it. Liberals who traditionally shy away from the idea of religion in government might be forced to embrace the new system and conservatives who have been reliably supported by the Religious Right might find their support fragmented and a little more difficult to retain. Both of these possibilities strike fear into the hearts of both parties and many Americans, whether they are for or against religion in politics. Should the “Great Emergence” occur, it is likely to completely change the face of our political system and will, without question, help direct America’s course (for better or worse) as we struggle to identify and establish a new kind of role in world politics.

This is not to say that we should stop the “Great Emergence” at all costs. Quite the contrary; we ought to let it run its course because we have no right to dictate what or why people believe what they do. Yes, it will likely lead to more controversy surrounding the role of religion in politics, but what is politics without a little (or a lot of) controversy?