Fr J Glenn Murray SJ
Meal and Ministry
Meal and Ministry: A Possible Ecumenical Response to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
March 14th, 2011, 7.30 p.m.
The Lauriston Jesuit Centre was delighted to welcome Fr J-Glenn Murray to Scotland, in advance of his ‘Gonzaga Lecture’ in Glasgow.
Fr Murray lectures widely in the areas of Liturgy and Culture, as well as conducting parish missions and priests’ retreats. His memberships include the North American Academy of Liturgy, The Catholic Association of Liturgy and the newly constituted Jungmann Society, an international organization of Jesuits working in the liturgy and allied fields.
Click here to read an article about him.
This is how Fr Murray introduced the presentation he gave at the Centre on March 14th:
Meal and Ministry: A Possible Ecumenical Response to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
The sociologist Christian Smith of the University of Notre Dame in the United States has noted that the spiritual lives of children and young adults on those shores—Christian or not—are marked by what he calls “moralistic therapeutic deism.” This is a post-confessional, post-Christian framework that eschews most traditional religious beliefs, practices and languages in favour of a generic religiosity centred on doing good (moralism), feeling good about oneself (therapy) and relating to a God who solves problems but is otherwise distant and uninvolved in one’s life (deism). Smith believes that such a belief system is parasitic (it cannot stand alone but draws life from already existing religious communities) and colonizing (it tends to take over such communities and reorient their beliefs and practices). Though Professor Smith’s observations are about the youth and emerging adults in the United States in particular, it is perhaps no less true in the West in general. This keynote hopes to take a look at Smith’s observations and then propose that there may be an alternative—a renewed ecumenical commitment to what we have in common: the meal and ministry of Christ Jesus. It is not simply an interesting proposal, it is an urgent call.
Click below to listen to his talk.
March 14th, 2011, 7.30 p.m.
The Lauriston Jesuit Centre was delighted to welcome Fr J-Glenn Murray to Scotland, in advance of his ‘Gonzaga Lecture’ in Glasgow.
Fr Murray lectures widely in the areas of Liturgy and Culture, as well as conducting parish missions and priests’ retreats. His memberships include the North American Academy of Liturgy, The Catholic Association of Liturgy and the newly constituted Jungmann Society, an international organization of Jesuits working in the liturgy and allied fields.
Click here to read an article about him.
This is how Fr Murray introduced the presentation he gave at the Centre on March 14th:
Meal and Ministry: A Possible Ecumenical Response to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
The sociologist Christian Smith of the University of Notre Dame in the United States has noted that the spiritual lives of children and young adults on those shores—Christian or not—are marked by what he calls “moralistic therapeutic deism.” This is a post-confessional, post-Christian framework that eschews most traditional religious beliefs, practices and languages in favour of a generic religiosity centred on doing good (moralism), feeling good about oneself (therapy) and relating to a God who solves problems but is otherwise distant and uninvolved in one’s life (deism). Smith believes that such a belief system is parasitic (it cannot stand alone but draws life from already existing religious communities) and colonizing (it tends to take over such communities and reorient their beliefs and practices). Though Professor Smith’s observations are about the youth and emerging adults in the United States in particular, it is perhaps no less true in the West in general. This keynote hopes to take a look at Smith’s observations and then propose that there may be an alternative—a renewed ecumenical commitment to what we have in common: the meal and ministry of Christ Jesus. It is not simply an interesting proposal, it is an urgent call.
Click below to listen to his talk.
