Der Zwang Zur Häresie: Religion In Der Pluralistischen Gesellschaft

by Peter L. Berger

modern man is right on so many points

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Sociology, Nonfiction

223 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Peter L. Berger was an internationally renowned sociologist, and the founder of Boston University's Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He was born in Vienna and came to the U.S. in his late teens. He had a master's degree and a doctorate from the New School for Social Research in New York. After two years in the United States Army, he taught at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina before going to the Hartford Seminary Foundation as an Assistant Professor in Social Ethics.

In 1992, Peter Berger was awarded the Manes Sperber Prize, presented by the Austrian government for significant contributions to culture. He was the author of many books, among them The Social Construction of Reality, The Homeless Mind, and Questions of Faith.

Reviews

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Berger's more theological books. It begins with interesting sociological observations and generalisations that dovetail the classic Social Construction of Reality. But then the book becomes a review of Protestant theology that supposedly is a representative case of the three different possibilities of religious affirmation. Not his best.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

BERGER'S FOLLOW-UP (TEN YEARS LATER) TO "A RUMOR OF ANGELS"

Peter Ludwig Berger (born 1929) is an Austrian-born American sociologist who has written/cowritten books such as 'Adventures of an Accidental Sociologist: How to Explain the World Without Becoming a Bore,' 'The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge,' 'The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion,' etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1979 book, "It is almost exactly ten years since I worked on my last book on religion ('A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural')... The present book deliberately takes up the argument at the point where the earlier book left it---to wit, at the contention that theological thought should take follow an inductive approach... The present book shifts the focus to religious experience proper, with the purpose of exploring the applicability of an inductive approach there."

Early in the book, he makes the major point: "In premodern situations there is a world of religious certainty, occasionally ruptured by heretical deviations. By contrast, the modern situation is a world or religious uncertainty, occasionally staved off by more or less precarious constructions of religious affirmation... For premodern man, heresy is a possibility... for modern man, heresy typically becomes a necessity." (Pg. 28)

He suggests that religion can be understood as "a human projection because it is communicated in human symbols. But this very communication is motivated by an experience in which a metahuman reality is injected into human life." (Pg. 52) He urges a "revitalization" of liberal religion, as "a fruitful third option between the neo-orthodox reconstructions on the 'right' and the capitulations to secularism on the 'left'... this position means a reassertion of the human as the only possible starting point for theological reflection and a rejection of any external authority... (and) a reassertion of the supernatural and sacred character of religious experience." (Pg. 154)

His ultimate conclusion is that Christian faith means "the conviction that the core contents of the Christian message provide the fullest and most adequate interpretation of one's own experiences of God, world, and self." (Pg. 182)

Berger's thoughts are always interesting---both to students of theology, as well as of sociology.

[Thomas Grosh IV]

Yes, another Peter Berger book which I desire to read. If you have a recommendation as to whether it is worth the invest of time/energy, let me know :)