America is not a Christian nation. We are, it is true, a nation founded by Christians, and according to a 2008 survey, 76 percent of us continue to identify as Christian (still, that’s the lowest percentage in American history). Of course, we are not a Hindu—or Muslim, or Jewish, or Wiccan—nation, either. A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.
So begins an article written by Newsweek magazine. And, they go on to make quite an accurate comparison of current “in the pew” beliefs with traditional Hindu beliefs. For instance:
- The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: “Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names.” . . . According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of us believe that “many religions can lead to eternal life”—including 37 percent of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe that salvation is theirs alone.
- Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, has long framed the American propensity for “the divine-deli-cafeteria religion” as “very much in the spirit of Hinduism. You’re not picking and choosing from different religions, because they’re all the same,” he says. “It isn’t about orthodoxy. It’s about whatever works. If going to yoga works, great—and if going to Catholic mass works, great. And if going to Catholic mass plus the yoga plus the Buddhist retreat works, that’s great, too.”
It would be easy to make a simplistic analysis. Yes, our tendency towards individualism means that we do not take kindly to authority. Yes, the multiplicity of our Christian denominations has had several effects. On the one hand, Truth appears to be multiple, as each division of Christianity in the USA preaches a slightly different way to salvation. Yes, I realize that we all say that salvation is a free gift of grace. But, if we are quite honest, we preach many different ways to live out the Christian life, many times not even agreeing on what that means. Because how we live our lives influences our view of God, we end up having, in effect, many different views of God.
And, that, precisely is where we have become Hindu. It is not the having many ways to God. It is the having many different views of God. As long as the Church was only in one or two or even three pieces, there was still a fairly basic united view of God. Whether Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Oriental Orthodox, the basic views of salvation, sanctification, of the Christian life, of Liturgy, of fasting, etc., were/are all basically in common. The view of the Trinity is not in common, and those arguments do need to be taken seriously. The nature of salvation and anthropology are not fully shared. But, even so, there is a basic view of God and of the Christian life shared among those three divisions. That basic unity finished being shattered at the time of the Reformation.
Notice that I am not blaming the Reformation. The unity was already cracked. But, on the other hand, it is true that what was cracked before was shattered at that time. In the succeeding centuries the accelerating division of Christendom took what was shattered and ground it to a fine dust. And, so, today, the end result is that the concept of Truth itself is shattered, and, to some extent, all of us have become somewhat Hindu. Any of us might claim that we are not Hindu. But, if we are really honest, we need to admit that we chose which part of Christendom to follow rather than letting the Church tell us how to follow. If we are honest, we all need to admit that we probably hold some beliefs and opinions that contradict the “official” beliefs of the group of which we are a part. And, in that contradiction, and in the refusal to change our opinion despite the contradiction, we show the effects of a “cafeteria” view of Christianity.
So, Newsweek is correct. To some extent, we are all Hindus.
Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. I recently had a discussion with a relative and her final comment was My god is not the same as your God.
“if we are really honest, we need to admit that we chose which part of Christendom to follow rather than letting the Church tell us how to follow.” this is the crux of the sissue. People do not seem to have trust in anything other than their own opinion. We dont trust government, elders or the Church it seems.
Lord Have Mercy!
…“if we are really honest, we need to admit that we chose which part of Christendom to follow rather than letting the Church tell us how to follow.” …….. i dont want anyone telling me what or how i am to believe..and that may well be my biggest problem..i have since an early age resisted authority in various non-conforming ways so when it comes to the church and submitting to its authority (knowing full well its God ordained) i find something within me fighting against it and i believe most of us have struggled with this in varying degrees..this may be a combination of ego and pride or it may simply be our ancient inclination to rebel against God but the refusal to “submit” i believe is the root of much discord….
I also agree. Though I doubt there is an absolutely perfectly faithful Christian anywhere, who upon the judgement will not have to yield some fantasies about God.
Ironically I’ve met a plurality of beliefs amongst the Catholics I know to such a degree that they almost qualify as Protestants, held together by the Episcopacy.
I’ve always loved Stanley Hauerwas’s quote: “I believe whatever the Church tells me to believe,” which might sound strange from a Protestant, but I love it nonetheless.
The sad part is that Satan has done a job on us. We either fall into the situation of being “Hindus” or we decide to be under authority and fall prey to those who would claim the Lord’s name to give themselves an authority which they ought not to have.
Even among us Orthodox, there are those who set themselves up as authorities, even beyond that of the bishops. And, there are those who take their appropriate authority but do not know how to properly handle it. To that point has much of the Church fallen that we neither know how to accept authority nor how to exercise it. Thus has Satan done his job all too well.
One thing that modern Christianity struggles with is the concept of authority. These means being ordained or called by God. This doesn’t mean calling yourself to the position of authority as it is most often performed, but being called through divine realization or calling. Forgive my lack of sources, for i do not know off the top of my head what scripture this idea is explained in, but i do know it is in there, and you will definitely find it if you look. Authority means having the right to preach the word of God and administer the ordinances of the Gospel, chiefly baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, blessings, etc. It is plainly written that one cannot raise him/herself up to a position of authority because that is what they desire. This actually ‘goes against the grain’ of what is written in the Bible. The only thing that bothers me about this idea of ‘multiple paths to the same goal’ is that it states in the Bible, and multiple times at that, that “Many are the paths to destruction (wide is the gate that leads to hell); straight and narrow is the path that leads to eternal salvation.” It goes something like that. Also, the way to enter that straight and narrow gate is through baptism (full immersion) by someone who has the proper authority (called and ordained by God). You can find verses that state specifically just that, how to enter into the gate you must repent and be baptized. Again, i apologize for my unprepared response. Here is one scripture however.. “Except a man be born of water (baptism) and of the Spirit (gift of the holy ghost), he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5. Something to consider..