God is not dead
mp3
What do God and Fidel Castro, the atheist Cuban leader, have in common? Not a lot, but they have both had the misfortune to be declared dead prematurely. In 2003, CNN managed to publish an obituary for Castro, and in its millennium issue The Economist magazine did the same for God. Today, however, the magazine has acknowledged its mistake and in a special report charts the thriving nature of religious faith, in particular Christianity, across the globe.
It draws attention to the fact that globally Christianity remains the largest religion, and is predicted over the next 50 years to continue to grow such that by 2050 a third of the world’s population will be Christian. It points out that mega-churches are not just a US phenomenon, but also exist in South America, in Africa, in South Korea and in the east end of London. And so they conclude, “God is definitely not dead”.
Their analysis takes place against the backdrop of the widespread predictions, including by The Economist, that as a force in public life God would disappear by the end of the 20th century. They note that in the first half of the century this secularisation thesis was the only story being told. As science and modernity continued to progress, Christianity would die on its knees. The facts though have not matched the predictions. And in its special report, The Economist goes to great lengths to try and explain why it is that religion, especially Christianity, has not died in the face of a secular onslaught.
One of the reasons it highlights is the growing realisation that atheist politics in the 20th century has proved to be a disastrous failure. My own suspicion is that in due course we will all look back at the last century as the great atheist experiment and realise that it has been inadequate in dealing with, and has even contributed to at least two world wars, unconscionable wealth inequalities, the most evil dictators in Stalin and Mao, and an environmental legacy that will keep us busy for the next 200 years or so. In short, secularism was given its shot and has been found severely wanting.It is an appreciation of this that has led to the resurgence of Christianity and on an individual level it remains part of the reason why so many are still searching (see this week’s report in The Times).
The lesson for all of us, then, is that it is not God who is dead but us, when as a society or as individuals we try to live without Him.
Justin Thacker, Head of Theology
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