To Change the World
The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2246250 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Donald E Miller (University of Southern California, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 377-378 |
| Publication date | 2011-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociology of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1069-4404 • E-ISSN: 1759-8818 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/socrel/srr037 |
| OpenAlex | W2335419199 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
The structure of this book is quite simple. Hunter creates a three-part typology of ways in which Christians have attempted to change the world; he then systematically argues for the inadequacy of each strategy; and, finally, he proposes a fourth alternative that he says fits his theory of power and cultural change. To give away the ending of this review, I found his three-fold typology to be useful at a descriptive level, but I was dissatisfied with the solution that he proposes. The first type he labels “defensive against” and includes fundamentalists, many mainstream evangelicals, and some conservative Catholics. They have a mythical ideal of a rightly ordered society and believe that American culture is morally bankrupt, moving toward disorder. The solution is to resacralize the world with Christian values. They do this by launching attacks against secular culture. They are preoccupied with sex-related issues (abortion, homosexuality, and vulgarity in the arts), which they believe are threatening the family, and they also rail against feminism, socialism, and evolution. They are defensive and angry, filled with fear as they seek to Christianize the world through their evangelism efforts and verbal barrages.
Aesthetics · Christianity · Mainstream · Political science · Power (physics) · Social science · Sociology · Tragedy (event) · Typology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies
| Citations per year | 0.78 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2024 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |