Sublime

those who don’t identify with a tight-knit community inevitably undervalue the moral foundations, loyalty and restraint, that require a community, an attitude that further alienates them from any such community; these indispensable moral foundations are thus liable to continue to lose appeal.

This, one imagines, is why the adherents of the various religions, despite the differences in their religious beliefs, end up with the same impromptu philosophy of life, namely, a form of enlightened hedonism. Thus, although Lutherans, Baptists, Jews, Mormons, and Catholics hold different religious views, they are remarkably alike when encountered

In 2001, a pair of sociologists—Michael Emerson and Christian Smith—published a landmark book, Divided by Faith, which lays out what they call a “cultural tool kit” used by white evangelicals—the “ideas, habits, skills, and styles” that help them organize experience and evaluate reality. The key component is what they call “accountable

I want to supplement Willard’s emphasis on the individual practice of the spiritual disciplines with what might be a counterintuitive thesis in our “millennial” moment: that the most potent, charged, transformative site of the Spirit’s work is found in the most unlikely of places—the church!

“What is playing out is an institutional trust story—not an individual belief story,” he said.

In every tradition, the more education people have, the more likely they are to stay in church.

This consolidation of believers, according to Chaves, means that “half of the money, people and staff” can be found in about 9 percent of Protestant congregations. The top 1 percent of churches by themselves have about 20 percent of the people and resources.