Discussion Guide for Chapter One of

Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest :   The None Zone ,

ed. By Patricia O’Connell Killen & Mark Silk (Rowman & Littlefield Publ., Lanham , MD , 2004)

 

by

Herb Hoefer

 

 

Chapter One is a summary and analysis of the authors’ research of the religious life in the Pacific Northwest .   For the details of their study, one must read the subsequent chapters.   This discussion guide focuses only on their conclusions.

 

  1. pp. 9-10 – Note the analysis for the lack of spirituality in the NW, from church leaders of a century ago:

 

    1. “foreigners”
    2. “washed up westering” dreamers
    3. “men of every kind and social condition”

 

Why would these characteristics of immigrants militate against church participation?   Is the influence of the mentality of these early settlers still evident?

 

 

 

  1. pp. 10-11 – The authors speak of the NW as “an open religious environment.”   The reasons they give are:

 

    1. “weak religious institutions”
    2. “lack of a dominant institutional religious reference group”:
    3. “fluid boundaries and identities”
    4. “fascination with the new”
    5. “promise of unlimited possibility”
    6. “minimal social pressure” because of social mobility
    7. religious identity as a “lifelong project”

 

Do you agree with this analysis?   What are the missiological implications of each?

 

 

 

  1. pp. 11-12 – Note how Christian denominations attempted to make Christianity “significant” in the region:

 

    1. large congregations
    2. weekly magazines
    3. church-related colleges
    4. large church buildings

 

Did these approaches work?   Will they still work?

 

 

  1. p. 12 – Do you agree that the “visceral, self-verifying,” emotionally “robust experience of the supernatural” approach to Christianity has proven more successful here than the more moderate Protestant denominations?   If so, what are the implications for our worship practices and outreach work?

 

 

 

  1. pp. 12-14 – Evaluate and reflect missiologically on each of these aspects of the religious environment in the NW:

 

    1. no dominant denomination
    2. private, episodically intense religiosity
    3. religious experimentalism with multiple traditions
    4. strong sectarian impulses and entrepreneurship
    5. lack of large sturdy religious moderate population
    6. reliance on leader’s charisma
    7. lay ownership and autonomy
    8. ambivalent dynamics of intense institutional commitment and rejection of community constraints
    9. disinterest in historical theological traditions
    10. skepticism over institutional authority
    11. difficulty in transmitting traditions to people on the move
    12. lack of institutional loyalty
    13. organizational creativity

 

 

 

  1. p. 15 – Do you agree with the observation that mainline churches “have been most influential when able to offer a compelling vision of the public good characterized by tolerance, fair play, and social responsibility toward the less fortunate”?   Why would this be so?   What are the implications for our mission strategy?

 

 

  1. p. 15 – Do you agree that these factors will determine how socially influential a mainline denomination will be in the NW, and what should we do about each?

 

    1. numerical growth
    2. internal conflicts
    3. political action according to own theological principles
  1. p. 15 – Have you seen successful examples of congregations and “sectarian entrepreneurs (who have) wed an exclusivist, evangelical theology with skillful use of modern communication technologies and organizational structures borrowed from the information economy”?   What can we learn from them?

 

 

 

  1. Do you agree that these characteristics have produced growing churches in the NW?   Why?   What might we learn, and what must we reject?

 

    1. contemporary worship
    2. small groups oriented to people’s needs
    3. entrepreneurial ethos
    4. theology of spiritual warfare
    5. promise of material blessing
    6. emphasis on family
    7. emphasis on individual responsibility

 

 

 

  1. p. 17 – Non-Christian religions are a larger group (4%) than most mainline denominations in the NW.   “The presence of the communities that compose it significantly increases religious pluralism in the region and so counters efforts at regional definition based on a single religious narrative.”   How should this fact influence our mission planning?

 

 

  1. The authors’ research found that 62.8% of people in the NW claim no religious affiliation, compared to 40.6% nationally.   However, note the spiritual beliefs of this group in the table below (p. 143):

 

Percentage of Nones with   Spiritual Inclinations, Compared with Nation

 

Secularism Item                                                                                                   NW        Nation

 

              1,   “When it comes to your outlook, do you regard yourself as….”

                            (percent answering somewhat religious or religious)                    34%        36%

 

              2.   “”Do you agree or disagree that God exists?”

                            (Percent answering agree somewhat or agree strongly )              67%        66%

 

              3.   “Do you agree or disagree that God performs miracles?”

                            (Percent answering agree somewhat or agree strongly )              69%        76%

 

              4.   “Do you agree or disagree that God helps me?”

                            (Percent answering agree somewhat or agree strongly )              52%        53%

The authors conclude (pp. 141-42):   “What is distinctive in the Pacific Northwest is not the psychological orientation of individuals so much as social structural facts - religious heterogeneity and low-affiliation rates.”  

 

Missiologically, do we decide to work with this reality, or do we try to change it?   In other words, do we try to get these people to join our churches or do we try to find some other way to minister to them?

 

 

 

12.   p. 17 – The authors term this group the “secular but spiritual,” and identify two         

        kinds:

•  those who identify with a religious tradition but don’t belong to one of its congregations

•  the vast majority of “Nones,” who claim beliefs and attitudes similar to church members

 

Describe individuals you know who are in each of these categories, particularly on how they view Christians and church membership.  

 

How might we reach out effectively to each of these groups?

 

 

 

13.   How do we regard these “secular but spiritual” people?:

 

•  lost?

•  fragile believers?

•  a new form of Christianity?  

•  what else?

 

How does our answer to this question determine our missiological approach?

 

 

 

14.   p. 17 – The authors see this group moving in one of three directions:

 

    1. identify with religious traditions but not join
    2. ready market for religious entrepreneurs
    3. new religious identity, perhaps totally naturalistic and materialistic

 

What should be our missiological approach to each of these movements?

 

 

 

15.   p. 18 – The authors describe the religious trends among the “Nones” that challenge orthodox religious traditions:

 

    1. New Age practices
    2. anti-government organizations
    3. nature religion and environmental protection

 

How should we missiologically address each of these trends?

 

What theological work do we need to do in these areas?

 

What organizational structures do we need to create?

 

 

 

16.   p. 18 – The authors describe the “Nones” as “grappling with how to be fully human and part of the region’s ecosystem.”   How do we missiologically address this spiritual yearning and search?