Summit Ministries

Two Christian commentators suggested this week here that the New Age Movement (or western transcendentalism, or neo-paganism) poses a greater threat to the church currently than secular humanism. I appreciate the contributions of both of these men, and certainly agree that the New Age movement is experiencing new life in different areas of culture (i.e. The Secret and Oprah) and the church (see Wade Clark Roof's The Spiritual Marketplace for details). However, is it the greatest threat, specifically greater than secularism?

I cannot agree. Here's why...

First, the thing about worldviews is that they are not really revealed by what people say they believe, but by what they really believe. While New Age practices are gaining new life (and religious belief is at an all-time high), there is a deep difference between how transcendentalism is expressed in the West and how it is expressed in, say, India. Secularism has so thoroughly dominated Western culture that it shapes how most New Age (and for that matter Christian) religious beliefs are expressed. In the West, religion is icing, not the cake. In the West, the cake is secularism.

How do we know? Because in the West, the two key values are choice and tolerance. Thus, the supremacy of the individual is what matters at the end of the day. In a thorough transcendental worldview (like which has dominated Eastern cultures), the individual is lost in the Divine Oneness which is ultimate reality. Also, individuality is not valued in this same way.

Second, secularism has embedded the fact/value distinction in Western culture. Thus, religions are matters of personal preference, not matters of truth. Francis Schaeffer, and his pupil Nancy Pearcey more recently, have both written about this. Religious belief in the West is about personal therapy (thus the success of the Celestine Prophecy, The Secret, and Christian Yoga) not about Truth. Truth in the West is reserved for that which can be observed, tested, and "proven." This has deeply affected both how we talk about Christianity and how we "do" church: we grow churches and ministries through proven business methods, while teaching personal therapy when people show up.

Third, while neo-paganism is culturally popular, it is not foundational to the key institutions of culture. In that sense, the West is thoroughly secularized: education, politics, law, art, sociology, science, and theology are built on secularism. Thus the "rules" governing each of these areas are secular ones (if you don't believe me then doubt Darwin and try to get tenure - or just ask Frank Beckwith). The significance of this can hardly be overstated. As Lewis said: "The most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones that are argued, but the ones that are assumed."

A quick excursion: this is why Summit has become interested not just in worldview analysis (our conferences and curriculum), but also in equipping and mobilizing a new generation of cultural leaders who can challenge the "rules" and assumptions of every area of culture (Summit Semester and Summit Oxford).

For more on secularism and its impact on both culture and the church, allow me to recommend Os Guinness' book, The Gravedigger Files, where he correctly (in my view) suggests that because the Church currently suffers from an inability to do real cultural analysis, we miss the real enemy and instead succumb to his schemes. He further exposes the thorough victory of secularism in the west. Another terrific resource is Craig Gay's book, The Way of the Modern World. And, of course, the clearest expose on secular humanism (which is the systematic expression of secularism) is Dr. Noebel's book Understanding the Times.