American pluralism is not a problem
per se, but the diversity of worldviews current in the country provide unique and new opportunities for unity in ways never experienced before in our nation’s history. Evangelical Protestants have had very easy lives in the American story and one could argue that they may have taken their “most favored religion” status for granted which leads to unwise cooperative efforts with government. So much so that now politicians feel too comfortable proposing legislation that attempts to tell Christians and their organizations how they can or cannot put their beliefs into
practice, as if politicians have such authority to speak into the life of the church.
Why We Belong is a clarion call for a new way forward. What is needed is a space to foster the kind of unity proposed in the book in local contexts in cities and towns across America. This type of multi-denominational discourse should be the new norm (as I tried to model in my latest book on Protestantism and issues of
race). In the last chapter of
Why We Belong, David Dockery makes several good recommendations regarding how Protestant denominations can foster more cooperation and solidarity.
Read more: http://blog.acton.org/archives/59081-american-evangelical-protestantism-in-the-21-century.html
