Dear Dolly,
What is post secularism? Isn’t that an oxymoron or some kind of joke?
Yours, Post-Joker
Dear Post-Joker,
Post-secularism is a lot like post-modernism or post-denominationalism or anything else that we need to get over. In the last century, there was actually a book written that hit the best seller list called THE DEATH OF GOD. Then religion got popular again, especially with people who called themselves conservatives or evangelicals or fundamentalists or literalists. The intelligentsia behind the Death of God movement – and its declaration of secularism as victorious -- were horrified when the worst parts of religion, the punishmentalsm, the judgements, the finger wagging, came “back.” They might also have been embarrassed but that is another question entirely.
Progressive believers stuck to their critical reviews of scriptures, their embrace of the rationalism of secularism but not its whole. They decided to move towards the “God beyond the Gods “ and universalize something called spirituality.
The death of the death of God movement was followed by “I’m spiritual but not religious,” which then became just spiritual.
So, religion was theoretically gone, killed by its own avid adherents and their preposterous imperialism. Secularism was also gone. Spirituality was gone, except that it made way for the more ancient magics, like tarot cards, fortune tellers and wide spread belief in coincidence.
Along came post secularism, which appears to be clearing the path and paving the way for something new. Neither religious, not spiritual, nor secular, it is something different.
Stay tuned. God might still be speaking.
I asked a friend, Molly Baskette, who identifies as a card carrying post secularist what books she found good to read. The titles of these books describe post-secularism as a search, a reach, a sleuth. Why not?
Here is Molly’s list.
Glorify, Emily Heath
For All Who Hunger, Emily Scott
Jesus Feminist, A Rhythm of Prayer; Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God; Sarah Bessey
Searching for Sunday and Inspired, Rachel Held Evans
Mere Christianity, CS Lewis--YES it is sexist/colonialist but if you can do your own filtering he is still The Best Christian Apologist
Meeting Jesus/Reading the Bible Again for the First Time/The Heart of Christianity, Marcus Borg
Shameless, Pastrix, Nadia Bolz Weber
An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, Leaving Church, Barbara Brown Taylor
Freeing Jesus and Grateful, Diana Butler Bass
How Not to be Afraid, Gareth Higgins
Everything by Richard Rohr but particularly The Universal Christ and Falling Upward (for middle age and up) and Breathing Underwater (12 steps)
What is the Bible, Rob Bell
The Cross and the Lynching Tree, James Cone
The Disabled God, Nancy Eiesland
Take This Bread, Sara Miles
Bless This Mess, Molly Baskette (For parents)
Forthcoming next year: God is Not an Asshole, Molly Baskette
Remove the Pews, Donna Schaper, me, who also writes as the Dolly Mama.
Tears We Cannot Stop, Michael Eric Dyson
Everything written by Frederick Buechner
Any literature that involves the trickster or the joker or shape shifting literary devices.
These spiritual sleuths are all good friends of post-secularism.
Dear Dolly,
What does the term harm reduction mean? Does it mean you can still take drugs, just fewer?
Harmed
Dear Harmed,
Harm reduction is an attempt to reduce harm, the harm done by people to themselves when they become dependent on drugs, the harm they do to those who love them and the harm they do to society by removing their gifts from the great gift giving pool called the economy and the culture.
Harm reduction is a confession that punishment doesn’t work to stop addiction. There is no point to expensive long term jail sentences, if when a person gets out, he she or they go back to drug or alcohol use, which they are likely to do if they can’t get a job or find meaning.
It treats addiction as a narrative deficit disorder or an appreciation deficit disorder or a meaning deficit disorder. It offers people places of worship or homes where they can safely use and not fear punishment or public arrest.
It tries to create community and to notify people who are using that they remain children of God. It makes a social policy out of forgiveness instead of judgment.
Who is the Dolly Mama?
The Dolly Mama is a spiritual version of Dear Abby. Her intention is to combine the irreverence of Dolly Parton with the surrender and non-attachment beloved by Buddhists. She wants to let go of what can’t be fixed – in either self or others – and fix what can by applying the balm of humor.
She is a spiritual handyperson, a soul mechanic, a repairer of broken appliances. Every now and then the combination of letting go and hanging on achieves sufficient balance for an improvement in spiritual posture, stronger spine, and personal peace. The Dolly Mama is not her day job. By day, she works as an ordained United Church of Christ and American Baptist pastor of a regular, if edgy, congregation.