The real reason for Mormonism's declining growth rate

[SeattleUte]

(I posted the following little essay on the fairboards and thought of doing so on Cougarboard, but thought better of it.)

All of the American mutations of protestantism (of which I consider Mormonism to be very much a part) are schizophrenic on the question of whether their faith can be empirically proven, or any attempt to do so should be made. This is because these sects grew up amid the undeniable fruits of the Enlightenment and its neo-Classical ethos--whose credo is things must be seen strictly as they are--but American Protestantism represents a negative reaction to the Enlightenment.

I count the following major movements as important push backs against the Enlightenment: The Protestant Reformation, neo-Protestantism (e.g., Southern Baptists) in the southern United States, Mormonism, the European Romantic movement in the Nineteenth Century, radical Islam, and Jewish fundamentalism. In Mormon circles the Reformation is primarily cast as a reaction to Catholic corruption, and a movement complementing the Rennaisance and in the direction of the Enlightenment. Not so; it was primarily a reaction against the Rennaisance and a move back toward fundamentalist, literal interpretation of scripture. This is the main reason why I think Max Weber overstates the importance of Protestantism--i.e., Protestantism's work ethic and materilism--in the rise of capitalism and the West's dominance.

The problem for the relgious fundamentalist reactions to the Enlightenment such as Mormonism is that science eviscerates their essentially literal, fundamentalist interpretation of their scripture. The problem becomes increasingly more accute as science progresses. So they're constantly oscillating between taking false comfort from "proofs" of their creed's veracity (which they intuitively know matters because of the Enlightenment's fruits), and the safe harbor of pure faith. Some thinkers have written that this inherant tension (between "Hebreism" and "Hellenism") in Western culture is the key to its vitality and success. Even Paul noted it: "The Jews look for a sign, the Greeks ask for a reason." It's an interesting issue; maybe THE issue of our day, perhaps the overarching issue of all time. I'm still not sure of the answer. It's an imporant one because what I see overall is the fundamentalist religious reactions to the Enlightenment (including Mormonism) in inexorable retreat. This is my explanation for Mormonism's flat growth rate.

Have you read the epic poem by Lucretius, "The Way Things Are"? It's very interesting to see how even before Christ, this same tension was at the heart of our civilization. Also amazing, as this poem demonstrates, is how the Greeks were able, just based on the naked eye and reason, to discern atomic theory, evolution, etc. Luretious and his inspiration Epicurus were re-discovered during the Enlightenment and served as inspiration and guidance to Newton, Darwin, etc. In a very real sense the Enlightenment prophets re-discovered previously revealed truths. Joseph Smith conciously or subconciously adopted Enlightenment rhetoric which seems to me critical to Mormonism's success.

Yes, fundamentalist religious reactions against the Enlightenment are putting up a good fight--in national and local elections, on city councils, on school boards, in the court rooms, in the class rooms, in the text books, and, with respect to Islam and some fundamentalist Christian fringe groups, by terrorism--but this fight has the earmarks of a desparate, last stand. And as the implosion of the mainline, Euro-Protestant religions (along with Catholicism's increasing fundamentalism in response to loss of membership, etc.) demonstrates, trying to come to terms with the Enlightenment by compromising too much of your fundamentals amounts to a suicide pact by religions.

NOTE: You might quibble with my categorization of Mormonism with Amerian neo-protestantism, on the basis of Mormonism's belief in modern revelation. But just ask Harold Bloom, who thinks they're more fundamentalist than Paul, more in line with James the Justs' outlook. Mormons are fundamentalists at their core. What could be more fundamentalist than a belief in modern revelation (vs. empiricism)? I submit this aspect of Mormonism is ultra fundamentalist, even somthing (among other charcteristics) that makes them somewhat resemble Islam.