Religion and the Human Future An Essay on Theological Humanism

Religion and Spiritual Integrity^9

If one casts a glance on the global scene, it becomes obvious that religion is a force of goodness in the world and is a power of evil as well. Throughout the centuries, people have appealed to religion in order to motivate and justify destructive and gracious deeds. How many people have killed others

or have been slain in the name of religion? The number is countless. How many people have been helped by others or have been redeemed from evil in the name of religion? Again, the number is countless. Historically, religion has a mixed legacy. The task of religion and the human future, then, is to

resolve that every religion foster responsibility for the integrity of life. That is the contention of the present chapter. To live that vision is the great spir-itual struggle of our time, a struggle raging in the hearts and minds of people around the world.

between religion and secularism is exploding everywhere. We can begin by clarifying the direction of our inquiry.So, this chapter wades into the troubled world scene where the debate

In our global time, religion is resurgent in nearly all places, even within Western Europe, although some Christian churches continue to lose influence. In the Spiritual Integrity

United States, evangelical Christianity is growing, but so too is secularism.Fading in strength and influence is the religious middle composed of moderatProtestant churches and post-Vatican II es or religious liberals, traditionally associated with the “mainstream” Catholicism. The situation is polar-^1
ized. Defying the predictions of nineteenth- and twentieth-century social
9781405155267_4_009.indd 1499781405155267_4_009.indd 149© Religion and the Human Future: An Essay on Theological Humanism2008 David E. Klemm and William Schweiker^. ISBN: 978-1-405^ -15526-7David E. Klemm and William Schweiker 5/2/2008 8:06:54 PM5/2/2008 8:06:54 PM