God with a Million Faces

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The undeniable reality, concludes George Barna in The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators (Word Publishing, 1996), 'is that America is transitioning from a Christian nation to a syncretistic, spiritually diverse society.' One result of this spiritual upheaval is a 'new perception of religion: a personalized, customized form of faith views which meet personal needs, minimize rules and absolutes, and bear little resemblance to the 'pure' form of any of the world's major religions.'

John H. Berthrong, associate dean at Boston University's School of Theology and director of the Institute for Dialogue Among Religious Traditions, has seen this trend unfold in his classroom. 'When I talk to students about their own sense of religious identity, I find that more and more of them have been brought up in homes that are post-Christian,' he says. 'So to say that they are reacting against Christianity is wrong; they've never been Christians. Even some of the ones who are Christian will say, 'But I really like Taoism and Buddhism too, and my meditation is Vipassana, but I also do a lot of work at my local church because I like the choir.''

A Christian theologian and scholar of Confucianism, Berthrong has spent 20 years fostering communication among different religions. His observations on the modern fluidity of belief are the basis of a new book he's writing called The Divine Deli, to be published next year by Orbis. 'I think a lot of traditional boundaries for many people are simply dissolving,' he says. Berthrong sees a trend toward 'multiple citizenship' in a number of separate faiths -- and no complete allegiance to any one. In terms of basic issues like child rearing and church fund-raising, the trend's potential impact is profound. And that's before anyone raises the touchy matter of doctrine. 'Many of the more conservative Christian theologians don't find any of this either amusing or profitable,' he adds. 'It's one of the areas that really defines the difference between liberal theology and conservative theology.'

Chenyang Li, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at Monmouth College, and author of the forthcoming book, The Tao Encounters the West, looks to his native China for an example of how multiple religious participation can work. In China, he explains, an individual's religious life may be a harmonious interplay among Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Even though their basic value systems may not always be perfectly aligned, aspects of each faith can be useful in different areas of life, or even in the same area. Confucianism and Buddhism, for example, may be at odds about worldly success, says Li, but this play of opposites can be used to achieve breadth (a kind of enlightened tolerance) and balance, which are important Chinese cultural ideals.

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