Russia is expanding its influence throughout the former Soviet territories and Europe by also advancing Russian Orthodoxy in these areas, reports the New York Times (September 13). From its critical stance on Western liberalism to its stress on conservative family values, President Vladimir Putin has mobilized Russian Orthodoxy to expand Russia’s reach and influence and […]
Although the growth in Korean churches and megachurches has slowed and in some cases shows signs of decline, churches that innovate in such ways as stressing expository preaching and intercessory prayer while downplaying the church’s corporate nature are showing signs of growth, according to research by the Center on Religion and Civic Culture at the […]
A religious struggle for legitimacy along with geopolitical rivalry with Saudi-promoted Salafism as a target may be underway in the Muslim world, as evidenced by a conference of 200 Sunni scholars in Grozny, Chechnya, on August 27–29, according to reports by Abbas Kadhim (Johns Hopkins University) in the Huffington Post (September 9) and James M. […]
The large and growing number of Chinese international students who have become Christian while in the U.S. frequently fall away from or are weakened in the faith upon returning to China, reports ChinaSource Quarterly (September). This issue of the online journal is devoted to the problem of the “returnees,” who are not prepared nor assisted […]
R. Scott Hanson’s book City of Gods (Fordham University Press, $35) is a study of a very particular place, the Flushing section of Queens in New York City, but the author believes that the “super-diversity” of this neighborhood can tell us a great deal about American religious pluralism. Flushing is unique in several ways—it has […]
Oasis is one of several networks of atheist or humanist congregations that have emerged in the past few years. As with the more well-known secular congregations known as Sunday Assemblies, Oasis brings together non-believers for church-like functions, involving services with live music, sermon-like messages, children’s activities, and testimonies of losing one’s faith while finding secularism. […]
Religion Watch recently interviewed ISR fellow and Baylor University sociologist Paul Froese about his new book, On Purpose: How We Create the Meaning of Life (Oxford University Press, $27.95).
RW: You have previously studied and written about religious repression in Russia and people’s images of God. Was it a challenge to write on such a vast subject as life’s meaning and purpose, especially for a sociologist?
Froese: Writing a book on purpose was the hardest thing I have ever done because the breadth of the topic is infinite. That said, approaching the topic as a sociologist provided ballast. While in the weeds of endless philosophical complexity, I was always led back to the foundation of community and social context in determining each individual’s system of values and meaning.
Each chapter delves into a different layer of meaning and begins with a question for the reader—it is intended to set the stage for the discussion that follows. They are 1) our shared assumptions about purpose, 2) the possibility of meaninglessness, 3) the ways in which people discover themselves, 4) the moral certitude some people feel, 5) the effects of social time, and 6) the limits of power in deciding our purposes.
RW: Early on in the book, you discuss findings showing that secular countries have a lower rate of people claiming that life is meaningful but that such a deficit is distributed more toward the deprived in these societies. Can you explain that?
Froese: Although religion is undeniably the source of meaning and purpose for most people in the world, it is not secularism per se which robs people of a sense of purpose. Rather it is the fact that modernity produced a plurality of existential choices, one of which is the possibility that everything is meaningless. This possibility looms most precariously for those who live in isolation within wealthier countries, which tend to be more secular.
People in poverty within less modernized countries may live lives of untold desperation, but they are more likely to persist within a larger religious culture imbued with meaning. They may not be happy, but they feel purposeful. In contrast, the disadvantaged within wealthy countries suffer from not only relative deprivation but also existential deprivation. They persist within cultures that provide little meaning to those who are not successful; they feel left behind and useless within societies which derive their meaning from economic success and technological progress.
A new breed of pro-Israel activism is emerging that is drawing Hispanic and younger evangelicals into its fold as well as using social media to spread the Christian Zionist message, according to Charisma magazine (September). These groups are responding to reports of growing anti-Semitic incidents and seeking to lead “more people to stand for Israel […]
While Brazilian-American evangelicals are following the trajectory of other ethnic groups through their 1.5 (those who immigrated to the U.S. while still children) and 2nd generations assimilating and moving into the evangelical mainstream, Brazilian spiritualist groups are becoming multi-cultural and English-speaking even before the second generation comes of age, according to research presented at the […]
Even though there have been over 100,000 gay weddings since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage last year, these ceremonies are still relatively rare events for most clergy. Only 11 percent of Protestant senior pastors are being asked to perform such ceremonies, according to a survey by Lifeway Research. As might be expected, more liberal, […]
