Building a home for faith: Building a home for faith Christian believing in a secular world


Peter Berger: 3 titles: Peter Berger: 3 titles The Sacred Canopy (1967) The Heretical Imperative (1979) The Homeless Mind (1974)


1. The Sacred Canopy: 1. The Sacred Canopy pre-modern society unified outlook sacred permeated all reality canopy of meaning has now collapsed…


2. The Heretical Imperative: 2. The Heretical Imperative pre-modern faith was given modernity signals the shift from fate to choice we are now forced to choose what to believe…


3. The Homeless Mind: 3. The Homeless Mind certainty is hard to come by consciousness becomes ‘pluralised’ few places left where religious believers can feel ‘at home’ – in a ‘world taken-for-granted’


Why does this matter?: Why does this matter? believing is a social activity “the plausibility of our beliefs is dependent upon our being in contact with like-minded people who share those same beliefs with us” conversely, “the plausibility of beliefs which lack this social support is inherently precarious”


Plausibility Structures : Plausibility Structures Berger calls this group of like-minded people a Plausibility Structure (Note: this is not a framework of thought, but a network of people) A plausibility shelter?


The Collapse of the Sacred Canopy: The Collapse of the Sacred Canopy the sacred canopy represented a plausibility structure overarching the whole society in a plural society, by contrast, believers huddle within their own, purpose-built structures home, church, mosque, faith-school etc


What makes a PS strong?: What makes a PS strong? boundaries – cohesion and exclusion maintenance – socialization/conversation cognitive defences – e.g. apologetics


Does it have to be strong? three strategies:: Does it have to be strong? three strategies: tension – ‘distinctive’ momentum – ‘inculturated’ significance – ‘engaged’


1.‘Tension’ strategy: problems: 1.‘Tension’ strategy: problems Distinctive but… authoritarian fundamentalist extremist sub-cultural ghettoized


Benign sectarianism?: Benign sectarianism? ‘centred set’ not ‘bounded set’ theologically acute culturally rich ‘liturgically’ distinctive socially cohesive demanding but inclusive


2. Momentum strategy: 2. Momentum strategy harnessing the energies of well-inculturated Christianity, e.g: ‘latent’ religion ‘vicarious’ religion ‘civic’ religion


3. Significance strategy: 3. Significance strategy refusing to accept relegation to the ‘private’ sphere – it is engaged ‘public’ religion ‘consumer’ religion


Building a home for faith: issues: Building a home for faith: issues the kind of plausibility shelters we seek to build, and where we locate them in society: in tension with it riding on cultural momentum seeking significance


Mission Implausible: Mission Implausible Chapter 5 ‘Help Thou Mine Unbelief’: Christianity in Consciousness Chapter 7 Deep River: church in society