A lot of people are
shouting at each other these days: the left versus the right, conservative
Christians versus progressive Christians, fundamentalists versus scientists,
gays versus anti-gays, Israelis versus Palestinians, Republicans versus
Democrats. Why are things so polarized?
A dear
friend of mine, Bruce Tallman, who also is an author and spiritual director
attended a symposium entitled
"Becoming Agents of Evolutionary Change," at King’s University
College in London and wrote about the enlightening explanation to this question
he heard there. Bruce writes “Carter Phipps, one of the keynote speakers and
the author of Evolutionaries: Unlocking the Spiritual and Cultural
Potential of Science’s Greatest Idea, explained that there are
currently three major world views clashing with each other: the traditional,
the modern, and the postmodern. All three have their own strengths and
pathologies.
The
traditional world view was dominant in medieval times. The healthy side of it
was that it promoted respect for legitimate authority and hierarchy and
produced stable, cohesive societies where everyone agreed on shared moral
values. The carriers of truth in this world view were the priests. Its
pathology was that its leaders could become authoritarian rather than
authoritative, it devolved into theocracy, and the stability became rigid and
blocked free thought, inquiry, and progress. The traditional world view today
is characterized by conservative religion and politics.
The
modern world view began in the 1500s with the Protestant Reformation which then
led to free inquiry, reason, science, and economic materialism in the form of
capitalism. Modernism has been dominant for the past 150 years and has brought
us the goods of medicine, democracy, and meritocracy, that is, your status is
not based on inherited bloodlines, anyone can excel. The carriers of truth here
were the scientists. The pathology is that healthy competition was replaced by
greed resulting in major wars and the destruction of the planet’s resources,
and science led to the development of atomic bombs. Modernism also was
male-dominated and left out women and the poor.
The
postmodern world view began to emerge in the 1960s. It emphasizes
environmentalism, pluralism, and inclusivism and so engages in struggles for
the rights of women, blacks, homosexuals, and aboriginals. It is concerned with
the psychological healing and development of the self. There is also a growing
awareness of a need to turn from materialism to spirituality, but not religion,
thus many people are "spiritual but not religious." The carrier of
truth here is the individual - everyone creates their own truth. The pathology
is that postmodernism is anti-hierarchical to a fault - everyone has an equal
voice so nothing gets done, as with Occupy Wall Street. It can also be
anti-intellectual and narcissistic, due to an overemphasis on the subjective
self.
One
world view develops as a corrective to a previous world view and so the
traditionalists, modernists, and postmodernists focus on the pathology of the
other. When the alternate world views challenge each other’s values, each feels
their very identity is being attacked and thus we have great polarization and
shouting.
The
solution is to focus on the legitimate values in each of the world views and
let the pathology go. In other words, we need to learn to not see those with
opposing viewpoints as utterly wrong and evil, to recognize that we are all
trying to do what we think is right, to seek out and keep the good in the
other’s view of the world, and learn how to dialogue and listen respectfully to
each other.”
Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown
at dre@ctredeemer.org or read
past columns at www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com
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