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Pope Worries About Soulless U.S. Life
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II warned several U.S. bishops Friday that American society is in danger of turning against spirituality in favor of materialistic desires, giving way to a "soulless vision of life."... The rest of the article is significantly less remarkable than the astounding headline. It might be less John Paul and more the news service folks at the AP and Yahoo! News who are to blame. Nevertheless, the headline is pretty offensive - perpetuating a baseless anti-American, elitist stereotype. Rather that fisk the piece myslef, I?fm just going to mix in sections from another article from The Economist. The second article is indented. Americans are becoming more religious, but not necessarily more censorious...To Europeans, religion is the strangest and most disturbing feature of American exceptionalism. They worry that fundamentalists are hijacking the country....Like the philosophers of the Enlightenment, many Europeans argue that modernisation is the enemy of religion. As countries get richer, organised religion will decline. Secular Europe seems to fit that pattern. America does not ... The American church "is called to respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world," John Paul said. There is no doubt, though, that America is the most religious rich country. Over 80% of Americans say they believe in God. "Taking up this challenge, however, will require a realistic and comprehensive reading of the ?fsigns of the times,?f in order to develop a persuasive presentation of the Catholic faith and prepare young people especially to dialogue with their contemporaries about the Christian message and its relevance to the building of a more just, humane and peaceful world." ...(Europeans) fear that America will go on a 'crusade' (a term briefly used by Mr Bush himself) in the Muslim world or cut aid to poor countries lest it be used for birth control....But the really distinctive feature of American religion is the area in the middle. Most Americans do not become members of a church to sign up for a crusade or to sit in judgment on miserable sinners. For them, churchgoing is a matter of personal belief, not conservative activism. Their religion is mild.....That must temper the notion that religion is running amok in America, or that it is causing America to run amok in the world John Paul added: "An effective proclamation of the Gospel in contemporary Western society will need to confront directly the widespread spirit of agnosticism and relativism which has cast doubt on reason?fs ability to know the truth, which alone satisfies the human heart?fs restless quest for meaning." Hey Europeans! Are Americans religious yahoos or soulless materialistic philistines? Which is it? Make up your G*ddamn minds!! Posted by: Prince Abdullah 2004-05-29 |
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