The news today is this: Harvey Cox’s “The Future of Faith” is now available in a more-affordable paperback edition, which may be the tipping point if you’ve been debating whether to discuss this provocative book in your small group.
ReadTheSpirit has recommended both of these books for individual reading and small-group study.
The Question: Is Dean’s Crisis—Cox’s View of the Future?
Decide for yourself—or ask half the members of your group to read one book and half to read the other one. You may find that these two scholars are describing the same state of faith in America these days. Dean describes this as a crisis in the organized religion of adults, which we are passing along to our teen-agers. It’s a critical problem, she argues. Cox describes this state of faith simply as our future, like it or not. But, are they both reading the same data? Are their conclusions accurate? What conclusions would you draw? Should we be concerned? Or should we try to adapt to a new world of religious assumptions, as Cox argues? If you’re leading a small gorup, you’ll have some spirited conversations on your hands.
HERE IS our recent interview with Kenda Creasy Dean. On that page, you’ll also find links to two other stories we published clarifying some of the fascinating conclusions she draws from her research.
AND, HERE IS our interview last year with Harvey Cox, when the hardback edition of “The Future of Faith” first hit bookstores. In that interview, you’ll also find other helpful links to explore these subjects further.
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