Religious Research Association, Inc.

New Forms of Religion in the Seminary

Author(s): Robert J. Wuthnow
Source: Review of Religious Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, Ministry, Seminarians, and Communality
(Winter, 1971), pp. 80-87
Published by: Religious Research Association, Inc.
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 Review of ReligiousResearch
Vol. 12: No. 2 (Winter,1971)

NEW FORMSOF RELIGIONIN THE SEMINARY

RobertJ. Wuthnow
SurveyResearchCenter
Berkeley,California

Abstract
Stimulatedby recentinterestin conceptualizing and measuringnew formsof religion
in contemporary society,thisinquiryfocuseson new formsof religionemergingin the
seminary.Four typesof seminariansare distinguished--the the revisionist,
traditionalist,
the academic, and the activist-and their religiousperspectivesand attitudestoward
ministryare described.The traditionalist maintainsprimaryemphasisupon fellowship
withGod; the revisionist focuseson community among men; the academic followsthe
revisionistbut plans to ministerin college teaching;and the activistemphasizessocial
transformation. Some of the sources and consequencesof these four perspectivesare
given,and suggestions are made towardfurther studyof seminariansand otherreligious
elites.

Althoughconsiderableadvanceshave tism,etc., the fact remainsthat their

been made in recentyearstowardthe "orthodoxy index"leftthebeliefsofmany
studyofcontemporary phenom- church-goers
religious unexplained.
ena, the dominantconclusionthat e- As one approachto studyingnew
mergesis thatmuchremainsto be ex- formsof religion,interesthas recently
plained.In fact,manyof thesestudies been directedtowardthe analysisof
have been predominately negative(e.g., religiouselites.Hadden (1969), forex-
Berton,1965; Berger,1961; and Winter,ample, has focusedon new formsof
1962), discoveringmoreof whatreligion social involvement amongministers, and
is not,thanof whatit actuallyis. More Time (1970) journalists have surveyed
recentlythe empiricalwork of Glock, Catholicpriestsand nuns to, discover
Stark,and colleagues(1965, 1967, and sourcesof changewithintheirranks.
1968) has also proventheneedfornew The studyof religious elitescannotin
formulations
ofreligion.Whiletheirfocus itselffullypredictthenatureof newreli-
on traditional
"orthodoxy"has contribut-giousforms,butit has longbeen recog-
ed immensely to theunderstandingof de- nized as a usefulplace to start.Max
nominationalism, secularism,anti-Semi- Weber (Bendix, 1960), for example,

80

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 NEW FORMS OF RELIGION IN THE SEMINARY 81
considered elitesessential
to his sociology FOUR TYPES OF SEMINARIANS
of religion,devotingmuchof his work Four distinct
to comparing such groupsas Confucian dentswerederived typesof seminarystu-
fromanalysisof the
mandarins,Islamic warriors,and Sufi interview thetraditionalist, the
To understand newformsof re- responses:
mystics. revisionist,theacademic,and theactivist.
ligionin contemporary society,attentionOf the seventy-five seminarians inter-
mustbe givento studyingavant-garde
viewed,onlyone did not plan to enter
clergymen, campus chaplains,seminar- anyoftheseministries. The mostpopular
ians,and eventhefunctionaries of occult
type appears to be theRevisionist; each
groupssuchas Krishnaand Zen. Atten- of theothersattracts a smaller,but ap-
tion shouldalso be givento "religion"
proximately equalnumber ofseminarians.
amongrisingsecularelites,such as stu-
dents,scientists,and politicalleaders.
Moreover,theseelitescannotbe studied TheTraditionalist
in isolation, but mustbe analyzedin in-
teraction withthe remainder of society. The traditionalist subscribes primarily
In lightof these considerations, the to traditional religiousbeliefsand prac-
purposeofthepresent studyis restricted,tices,emphasizing a personalrelationship
to
first, makingpredictions only about with God. Although reluctant to define
new formsof institutionalized religion; God, the traditionalist generally views
second, it considers onlyreligiouselites; Him as a creative, loving Being. God is
and third,amongreligiouselites,only creative because He is the creator and
seminariansare examined. Since the controller of nature.Since God created
courseof tomorrow's is
church largely nature, He is morethannatureand can-
heldby today'sseminary students, how- not be known entirely throughnature.
ever,thisappearsto be a fruitful strategy. God is loving because He callsindividuals
The datapresented herewerecollected into intimate with
fellowship Him,giving
frominterviews
[En la tradición
withseventy-five students them peace and comfort, forgiveness,and
norteamericana
and tenfaculty members fromsix semi- eternal life.God is a Being because He is
el catoicismo es
incluido entre nariesaffiliated withtheGraduateTheo- personal. "Personal" not only means
otras
Union in The denomina- thatGod relatesto persons,butalso that
denominacio logical Berkeley.
nes para el tionof thestudents interviewed included He is an abstract, integrated, and supe-
Análisis
Episcopalian,Baptist,Roman Catholic
rior system personalvirtues,such as
of
love,wisdom, mercy, andjustice.Relating
(Jesuitand Franciscan),Presbyterian,
and Lutheran. Due to thelib- to God, then,impliescultivating these
Methodist,
eral milieuof theseseminaries, a special virtues.
effortwas made to includeconservative Jesus,accordingto the traditionalist,
studentsin the sample.The interviewswas "God's ultimaterevelation to man-
focusedon qualitativedata descriptivekind who showedGod's love and con-
ofthestudents' religious
perspectives,the cern."Jesusis themeansbywhicha per-
of
types ministry that attract
them, and sonalrelationship withGod is established.
and
someofthesources consequences of The traditionalist's imageof man is
theirchoices. dependent upon his imageof God:

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82 REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS RESEARCH
Man's spiritis made afterthe image of theirmeaningand emphasizeshuman
God. It is possible to break fellowship relationships.
with God, but the consequence is un-
happiness. It's good to be a slave of
The revisionist's imageof God is more
God's; He's no tyrant. pantheistic thanpersonal.God is defined
as everything thatmakesup ourlifeexpe-
The idealstateofmanis personalfellow- rience.He is "the on-goingness of life,"
ship with the
God, i.e., attaining system "the processes of the universe," and "the
of personalvirtuesthatthe traditionalist forcebehindall life." The revisionist's
identifies with God. The individuala- pantheism is a pantheism not of nature
chievesthesevirtuesby passivelydeny- but of life,particularly humanlife and
ing his own will and following Christ, humanrelationships. Thus,the revision-
the humanpersonification of thesevir- ist'sworldis sacralizedandthestatusquo
tues.He is encouraged to studytheBible is accepted.Since God is everything in
in orderto understand thelifeof Christ life,the revisionist experiences "Him"
betterand to pray,relinquishing his own notthrough prayeror meditation, butin
will and desiringtheseultimatevirtues theeveryday activities oflife,particularly
bothforhimself andforothers. inrelationships withothers.
The importance of God forthe tradi- The primary significance of Jesusfor
tionalistalso influenceshis image of is of
therevisionisthisexample fellowship
society: withothers.Jesusis "theone who crys-
tallizes our insightsinto love, justice,
The problemsof societyare due to basic and brotherhood," "a personwho ac-
Afterthe Fall, man was alien,
selfishness.
ated fromGod and fromothers.I believe
ceptedothersand challenges us to lower
in the total depravityof man. Man looks
our barriers," and "the one who teaches
afterhis own self-interest
first. us how to relateand be open." Since
Jesusis definedas a linkbetweenmen
Man has substituted his own will for ratherthana linkwithGod,beliefsin his
God's will,thereby depriving himselfof divinity, Resurrection, etc.,are unimpor-
a perfect world.Onlyas individuals deny tant.Beliefin Christis not adhering to
theirwills and attainthe personalvir- doctrine,but following his exampleof
tues of God can societybe improved.self-sacrifice and concernforothers.
The traditionalist's strategyfor social The Revisionist's imageof man also
betterment is primarily one of workingstresses relating toothers:
witho'ther individuals to bringtheminto
fellowship with God. The function of the Man shouldfindmeaningin his relation-
churchis to encourage individuals in their ships. He should have meaningfulcon-
tact with other people, dialogue, open-
relationship withGod and to serveas a ness,and honestywithothers.
placetoworship Him.
Man's tendency is to be selfish, but by
TheRevisionist beingmoreawareof othersand striving
The revisionist appearsto be mostsig- forfellowship withothers,he can over-
nificant for determining the face of the come his selfishness and transcend him-
churchin thefuture. He does notreject self. Life after death is unimportant;
traditional religioussymbols, but revises rather, manmustseekfulfillment through

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NEW FORMS OF RELIGION IN THE SEMINARY 83

constantactivity in his dailylife. Con- The academic'simageofmanalso em-

for
tinuallystriving open relationshipsphasizeshumanrelationships and self-
is man'sprimary responsibility. sacrifice, with
albeit a noteof self-actual-
This view of man determines the re- izationadded:
viewofsociety:
visionist's
Man's responsibility
is self-actualization,
Problems existin societybecausemanis beingin tunewithour self;he is inher-
and greedy.
selfish He has beenhurtand entlysocial,so beingin touchwithself
wantsto hurtback. causeshimto be in touchwithothers.

But since selfishnessis impossibleto The academicalso converges withthe

completely the
annihilate, revisionist
is revisionist
on his imageof society,attrib-
not utopianaboutchangingsociety.So- utingits problemsto man's selfishness:
mustbe attainedslowly
cial betterment
and orderlyby individualsworkingin To changesociety,we need to be con-
cernedfor otherpeopleand searchfor
theirowncontexts: Human aremost
community. relationships
weneedloveandsupport.
important;
onlyby a bunch
Societycan be improved
of guysthatkeeptrying to makethings The ministry of thechurchagain,is both
better.We shouldtryto reducethose
factorsthatisolatemen and keep them social criticism
and personalsupport:
frombeingopen-prejudice, hate, pov-
andself-glorification.
erty, As for ministry,I am moreconcerned
withprovidingpeoplewithmeaning,with
theability
to be at homewithuncertainty
Since the basic problemsof societyare and to knowthemselves,thanwithwork-
attributableto individualselfishness,the ingonbigplansto,bringprogress.
churchmustworkto overcome selfishness
by providing a community in whichper- TheActivist
sonal relationshipsmaybe formed.Sen- The activistalso rejectsparishminis-
groups,communal
sitivity formsof litur-
try,butplansto engagein social action
gy,counseling, discussiongroups,recre- work,suchas urbanrenewal,
ghettoedu-
ation,etc. are themajoractivities of the cation,
revolutionary tactics, or critical
church. His
journalism. theologicalpositionis
characterizedby his alienation fromsoci-
TheAcademic ety. The dominant theme of the activist
The academicdiffers littletheological-is social transformation.
lyfromtherevisionist, although hisvoca- The activistdefinesGod as eitherthe
tionalplansare quitedifferent. He plans hope of transformation and liberationor
to becomea collegeprofessor insteadof the mysticalnatureof life.God is "the
a parishminister. The academic,likethe processof good in history thatwe trust
revisionist, definesGod in pantheisticin," "thatwhichmovesbeforeus and
terms.God is "thatwhichunitesus," freesus," "beingin touchwithyourself,"
"the entireuniverse,""whatyou really or "man'sinnermost desire."The signifi-
are,"and "theforceof orderin theuni- cantfeaturecommonto thesedefinitions
verse." Christis an example of self- is thatGod is notidentified witheveryday
sacrificeand unconditional
love. life.God ultimately resideseitherin the

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84 REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS RESEARCH

future or in somemystical aspectof life. will suppressand deceive people. To be

Since God is removedfromeveryday free,people will have to meet in small
He is generally notas salientfor to groups.These have to be stepping-stones
activity, the revolution,to man returning him-
thedailylifeof the activistas He is for selfto God-consciousness.
theothertypes.God provideshope and
encouragement, but does not concern BACKGROUNDS OF FOUR TYPES
Himselfdirectly withtheactivities of the To suggestsomeof thesourcesof the
world. different religiousperspectives outlined
Jesusis also defined in termsconsistent the of the four
above, backgrounds types
withtransformation. He is "a man who ofseminarians arecompared.
exemplified a newwayof life,""a mem-
ber of the disinherited who affirmed life Traditionalists are mostlikelyto have
grown up in a religiously conservative
in spiteof alienation," or "a personnot
attached to thestatusquo." Jesuswaspri- family and church and are likelyto have
a revolutionary. evaded liberal ideas duringcollege by
marily in such as natural
The activist's image of man also con- majoring disciplines
tainsthemesof transformation or
and revo- sciences,engineering, foreign language
lution.The ideal stateof man is "toibe. instead of English literature, philosophy,
in balancewithall things," butthisis not or social science.Data fromsociometric
achievedby conforming to one's situa- questionsshows that the traditionalist
also isolateshimselffromexposureto
tion."Changing societyis thefirstpriorityother
becauseit is getting to thepersonearlier religiousorientations duringsemi-
and earlier.""One shouldbe able to,rec- nary by generally choosing othertradi-
tionalists as friends and by identifying
ognizewhatis goingon in the physical withconservative
faculty members. He
world,to see the thingsthatare wrong, alsotends
and to thinkout alternatives and tryto to study traditional Biblical and
them."The activist's historical theology rather thanphilosophi-
implement imageof cal or behavioral sciences.
societyis imbuedwithalienation: theology
The activisthas generally been raised
Man is determinedby educationalinflu- in a religiously liberal home and has
ences, government, and
property, political belonged to a religiously liberal denomi-
manipulation. He has no freedomto make nation,if any;has goneto a largeuni-
individualdecisions.Man doesn't act re-
versity wherehe majoredin philosophy,
ligiouslybecause he is obsessed with the
physicalworld. We need to change the
social science,or Englishliterature; and
political and economic structureso that has had formative contact with liberal
we can turnto thespiritual. ministers orcollegechaplains.
These liberalinfluences, however,do
The churchis identified as any group not in themselves
producean activist.
pursuingliberationand transformation. Identification witha counter-culture or
The presentchurchmusttake on a new
mysticalgroupalso appearsnecessary:
formsinceit "has gottenhookedup with
authoritarian figuresand wealth": You need some other source of identity
or you will destroyyourself.You need a
The institutionalized
churchwill die in the counter-cultureto break down the social
long-run.In the meantime,therewill be structuresthat alienate. I look to an
a resurgenceattachedto patriotismthat Easterncounter-culture
forauthority.

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NEW FORMS OF RELIGION IN THE SEMINARY 85

Identifying witha mysticalgrouppro- withotherpeople,andfeelsunqualified to

videsthe activist witha reference group handlethe social relationships involved
whosevaluesare aliento societyat large: inparishministry.
and gives him a base fromwhichto The revisionist has nothad a special-
operationalizehis revolutionary strategies.ized reference groupbut has been most
The mystical group,then,far fromen- influenced by everydayexperiences. He
couraging the activistto withdraw from was activein churchduringhis youth
the world,supportshis alienationand but was notespeciallyinterested in doc-
stimulateshisactivism. or
trine theology. His face-to-face rela-
This proposition is significant, for it tionshipswithministers, collegechaplains,
appearsto contradict thefamiliar theme and otheryoungpeople appearto have
ofWeberand Troeltsch thatmysticism is been mostsignificant in channeling him
antitheticalto sociallyrelevantactivity.intothe ministry. His collegetraining is
The Weber-Troeltsch thesisstillholdsfor likelyto have includeda numberof
somestudents, butit appearsthatan in- coursesin thehumanities and social sci-
creasingnumber ofstudents see mysticismences,plussomesensitivity training which
as a base fromwhichto pursueradical reinforced his interestin workingwith
One student,
social activities, forexam- people.The revisionist categoryalso in-
ple, tracedthe stages in his developmentcludesa numberof menwhohavework-
fromPresbyterian, to non-church-goer, ed forawhilein anotheroccupationand
to MeherBaba enthusiast, to SDS mem- foundit providing too fewopportunities
ber, to Marxist revolutionary.The forworking withand helpingpeople.
Weber-Troeltsch thesis,then,has become
complicated by recent formsofmysticism
OF THE FOUR TYPES
and radicalactivism which,due to their CONSEQUENCES
simultaneous emergence in America, have The revisionist type of ministry ap-
becomelinkedso thatmysticism func- pears most significant forthe futureof
tionsas a substitute reference groupfor thechurchbecauseit is thelargestcate-
socialactivists. goryof seminarians and appearsto be
In betweenthe extremesof activism developing the most consensus aboutnew
andtraditionalism standtheacademicand forms of religion.It is also significantbe-
therevisionist.The academicdiffers from cause its emphasison smallgroupsalso,
the revisionistbecausehe has identifiedprevailsin certainotherareasof society.
primarily with an academic referenceFor example,small committeegroups
groupduringhis college training.The predominate in moderncorporations, ac-
academicis least likelyto have been cordingto Galbraith(1967). For there-
influenced by actualcontactwithother visionist,to associatewithothersin a
people such as ministersor church groupis to knowGod himself. Groupre-
groups; rather,he is likelyto have identi- lationswhich are so important to modern
fiedwiththeologians, philosophers, and industry are, thus,sacralizedby the re-
otherscholars.He has been mostinter- visionist. In fact, this group-centered
ested in academicsin college,studied alignment betweenreligionand industry
most,and earnedthehighestgrades.He appearsto be as significant as theearlier
has been mostinfluenced by ideas,does individualistic alignmentwhichWeber
not findhimselfstimulated by working (1930) describedas the"Protestant eth-

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86 REVIEWOF RELIGIOUSRESEARCH
ic andthespirit ofcapitalism." The academictypeof ministry sup-
Revisionistministry is also likelyto portsthe revisionist typein beliefbut
appealto societyat largebecauseitspri- channelsa numberof seminarians out
maryfunction appearsto be to "comfort,"ofthechurchintotheuniversity. Its main
as Glock,et al. (1967) have definedit. significance forthechurch, then,appears
Since man'sprimary responsibilityis to to be the transference df theknowledge
be open and acceptingof others,the dimension of religion(Glock and Stark,
churchbecomesa community wherein- 1965:32) into the university. Whether
dividualsexpectto findacceptance, rec- thistransference willweakenthechurch's
ognition,andsympathy. controlover religiousknowledgeand
Thesefactors all contributeto thepos- eventually lead to significant alterations
sibilitiesof revisionist ministry for the in conventional formsof religioncan
futureof thechurch.However,sincethe onlybe a matter ofconjecture.
revisionistso closelyidentifies religious. The activisttypeof ministry provides
experiencewitheverydayactivitiesand themostsignificant alternativeto there-
grouprelations, theproblemarises:Can visionist type.The activists have notde-
itsimagery of God and manprovidethe velopedas muchconsensus regarding be-
basis fora differentiated church,or will liefs,however, becausebeliefcomponents
the churchbe replacedby otherinstitu-fromChristianity, Marxism, and mystical
tions?If man'stranscendence stemsonly traditions mustall competeforpredomi-
fromgrouprelationships, thenrecreation-nance. Neitherare the activist'sbeliefs
al groups,mentalhealthclinics,and sen- consistent withgeneralsocialvalues.They
sitivitytraining centersare all functionaldo notcomfort theparishioner but chal-
alternativesforthechurch. lenge him to adopt new ways of life.
It remains to indicatetheconsequencesFurthermore, as activists
advancethrough
of theotherthreetypesof ministry. The seminary, it appearsthattheirranksare
traditionalisttypeof ministry continuesdiminished by a significantnumberwho
to appealto a minority of churchmem- become discouragedwithradicalsocial
bers.It maintains itscomforting functionactivity and shiftintoeithera moremod-
primarily in the psychologicalrealm, eraterevisionist ministryor an academic
promising individualsmiraculousaccess ministry or else withdraw intomysticism.
to desirablepersonalattributes. The tra- It remains to be seenwhether religious
ditionalist'sthemesof individuality and activists
actingoutsidethe churchand
passivitycontradictthe active group- obtaining theirsupport fromothersources
centeredmotifof societyat large; but willcontinue to adhereto traditional re-
increasingly,establishing warmgroupre-
ligioussymbolsor if theywilldevelopa
lationshipsis becoming thepropermeth- newreligious movement basedper-
totally
od for the traditionalist to demonstrate
hapsuponMarxianor mystical concepts.
the personalvirtueswhichhe has at-
tained.The traditionalist, therefore, ap-
CONCLUSION
pearsto be converging towardthegroup-
centered ethicof boththerevisionist and It shouldbe stressedagainthatthese
at
society large,suggesting thecontinued conclusions are tentativeand merely sug-
saliencyof traditionalism for at least a gestiveof the workwhichmustfollow
minority ofchurch-goers, if alternativesto traditionalformsof reli-

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NEW FORMS OF RELIGION IN THE SEMINARY 87

gion are to be conceptualized and mea- requiredto develop scales to measure

sured.Leavingaside the broaderstudy them.This task,of course,cannotpro-
of otherreligiouselites,additionalquali- ceed at a ratemorerapidthanthe rate
tativestudiesmustbe conducted to quali- at whichconsensus is actuallydeveloping
fy the "types" considered here and to on new forms of Finally,atten-
religion.
discoverothertypesof religiosity among tionshould be directed toward obtaining
seminarians. Interestedseminary profes- data representativeof the generalpopu-
sors and administrators who have daily lation of seminarians to providea de-
contactwithstudentscould make valu- scriptive overviewof theirreligiousper-
able contributionsin this regard.Once spectivesand to indicatethesourcesand
generaltypes and dimensions have been consequences ofthese.
specified,considerable effortwould be

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