Four strategies for resisting secularisation

Abstract

Four strategies for resisting secularisation

From at least the mid-19th century churches in Europe have continuously felt threatened by secularisation, whether through government policies, new intellectual developments, popular radical movements, or the effects of social change. This article examines four typical strategies for resisting this threat, taking examples both from the 19th century and from more recent times. Strategy 1 is to rechristianise society from above through an alliance with governments and social elites. A classic example is the French Catholic church in the mid-19th century, but there are many more recent examples, especially in the aftermath of war or periods of persecution. Strategy 2 is to form a tight-knit church-based sub-culture. A good example is the Prussian Catholic church in the wake of the Kulturkampf. But in the period c. 18701960 this strategy was used by the Catholic church in many countries, and sometimes by Protestants too. Strategy 3 is more typically Protestant. It is to identify the church with the forces of political and/or intellectual progress. It was at its apogee in the 1960s, when progressive theologians were calling for a ‘New Reformation’ and Christian student movements warmly embraced the ‘Spirit of ‘68’. Strategy 4 focuses on evangelisation from below. It tends to combine a conservative theology with innovative methods of preaching the gospel. A classic example would be Methodism, which became a powerful popular movement in 18th and 19th-cenutry England. Each of these strategies has had its successes, but each also has its limitations. There has been no completely successful strategy for resisting secularisation. But neither has any of the secularist movements which played such a big part in the history of the 20th century been entirely successful.