Fukuyama hit the nail in the head. It's interesting because I had come to similar conclusions just based on observation. To use one example, the Roman Catholic Church between the modernist/anti modernist conflicts and the full victory of secularized neutered Catholicism after Vatican II.
It's reflected even in the language the popes use, in that Christ as been replaced by climate change or the brotherhood of man. The entire supernatural reason for the Church has been turned on its head to focus on secular, this world issues.
I always saw that IF a certain religion was true than it demands to color every aspect of life, both public and private. This is anathema in the modern world which demands religion be a strictly private affair.
Islam in certain areas is one of the only mainstream religions left whose adherents ( at least in part) still believe that if Islam is true than ALL of life should be governed by it. I don't think this will last either, as bowing to secularism and modernity tend to rot out the fundamentals of every religion.
But what is the answer? I wish I knew. I think part of the issue is there really isn't any way to know which of these religions are "true" or if all of them are man made fables to keep people in line. It's impossible to know.
When everybody in your life was Christian or Muslim and the society reflected that it was probably easier to believe your holy book and tradition.
In the modern world everybody has equal access to all the world's great spiritual wisdom, none of the religious leaders actually believe a lick of it anymore, and modern secularism has no place for religion that doesn't become a purely private affair.
Exactly. And Fukuyama does mention Islam as one of Liberal Democracies few remaining rivals, even if he doesn't seem to take it seriously as a threat, instead writing: "The days of Islam's cultural conquests, it would seem, are over."
I plan on writing more on the topic of desacralization in future essays, as I think it's very central to understanding the disorders of modernity. As far as the future goes, it's difficult to be certain about anything, but I do predict that more people in the West will start to question secularism and that more cracks will begin to form in the Liberal narrative around it. How exactly that plays itself out is anyone's guess, but I have hope that we will find an answer (what other choice do I have?)
Desacralization is an important topic. I look forward to your thoughts on this.
Like Fukuyama I can't take Islam seriously as a force for conquest, but maybe it will wake up people in the West to the reality that a religion demands to be taken seriously as an all encompassing worldview.
What a 21st century, all encompassing worldview in the West might be that addresses the sacred is certainly up for debate. I don't think Christianity is a viable option anymore as a cultural unifying force though.
There's a yearning for authenticity and tradition in some Christian circles, but it feels more reactionary and a bit like larping to me.
Besides, it was the historical critical Biblical scholarship ( mostly within the churches themselves) that basically deconstructed their own holy book and any reason short of pure fideism to believe in it.
I think some LARPing is necessary in our age before faith can really take root, but you're right in that a lot of the resurgence in tradition these days feels very "spectacular" in nature, evoking an imagined alternate world where such faith is being actively restored while, in reality, its essence still eludes them.
Obviously as a Buddhist I think Buddhism is the supreme truth, but we'll still have to circumvent the same wall of technical modernity before we can get to the real stuff, otherwise the dharma just gets bastardized and repurposed as a consumer product over and over. Scary stuff.
Fukuyama hit the nail in the head. It's interesting because I had come to similar conclusions just based on observation. To use one example, the Roman Catholic Church between the modernist/anti modernist conflicts and the full victory of secularized neutered Catholicism after Vatican II.
It's reflected even in the language the popes use, in that Christ as been replaced by climate change or the brotherhood of man. The entire supernatural reason for the Church has been turned on its head to focus on secular, this world issues.
I always saw that IF a certain religion was true than it demands to color every aspect of life, both public and private. This is anathema in the modern world which demands religion be a strictly private affair.
Islam in certain areas is one of the only mainstream religions left whose adherents ( at least in part) still believe that if Islam is true than ALL of life should be governed by it. I don't think this will last either, as bowing to secularism and modernity tend to rot out the fundamentals of every religion.
But what is the answer? I wish I knew. I think part of the issue is there really isn't any way to know which of these religions are "true" or if all of them are man made fables to keep people in line. It's impossible to know.
When everybody in your life was Christian or Muslim and the society reflected that it was probably easier to believe your holy book and tradition.
In the modern world everybody has equal access to all the world's great spiritual wisdom, none of the religious leaders actually believe a lick of it anymore, and modern secularism has no place for religion that doesn't become a purely private affair.
Exactly. And Fukuyama does mention Islam as one of Liberal Democracies few remaining rivals, even if he doesn't seem to take it seriously as a threat, instead writing: "The days of Islam's cultural conquests, it would seem, are over."
I plan on writing more on the topic of desacralization in future essays, as I think it's very central to understanding the disorders of modernity. As far as the future goes, it's difficult to be certain about anything, but I do predict that more people in the West will start to question secularism and that more cracks will begin to form in the Liberal narrative around it. How exactly that plays itself out is anyone's guess, but I have hope that we will find an answer (what other choice do I have?)
Desacralization is an important topic. I look forward to your thoughts on this.
Like Fukuyama I can't take Islam seriously as a force for conquest, but maybe it will wake up people in the West to the reality that a religion demands to be taken seriously as an all encompassing worldview.
What a 21st century, all encompassing worldview in the West might be that addresses the sacred is certainly up for debate. I don't think Christianity is a viable option anymore as a cultural unifying force though.
There's a yearning for authenticity and tradition in some Christian circles, but it feels more reactionary and a bit like larping to me.
Besides, it was the historical critical Biblical scholarship ( mostly within the churches themselves) that basically deconstructed their own holy book and any reason short of pure fideism to believe in it.
I think some LARPing is necessary in our age before faith can really take root, but you're right in that a lot of the resurgence in tradition these days feels very "spectacular" in nature, evoking an imagined alternate world where such faith is being actively restored while, in reality, its essence still eludes them.
Obviously as a Buddhist I think Buddhism is the supreme truth, but we'll still have to circumvent the same wall of technical modernity before we can get to the real stuff, otherwise the dharma just gets bastardized and repurposed as a consumer product over and over. Scary stuff.