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Religious conversion: from A (Awakening) to M (Madama Butterfly)
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Increasing numbers of people no longer adhere to the beliefs they grew up with, but conversions range in cultural continuity on a continuum from mildly, to moderately, to radically different.
The least radical change, in terms of basic beliefs, is what has been called in American religion an Awakening. Great Awakenings are associated with names of revival preachers, from Jonathan Edwards, to Charles Finney, Dwight Moody and Billy Sunday, to Billy Graham.
These periods of religious revival are characterized by emotional fervor, and led American religion from the more doctrinal faiths of Anglicanism, Presbyterianism and Congregationalism to ones stressing religious conversion experiences. Baptists and Methodists flourished in early revivals, to be joined in the 20th century by Pentacostals.
American religious language was strongly influenced by these trends, as concepts like being "born again" and "accepting Christ as your personal Savior" became accepted descriptions of individual faith. In some evangelical groups they have become normative. This language was a religious innovation, differentiating "Old Lights," who considered it undoctrinal, and "New Lights," who believed they were restoring churches to their original roots.
Greater discontinuity is experienced when people convert by changing religious denominations. While many "born-again" Christians remained in their original denominations, many others joined new independent congregations, often described as "Bible believing," "Non-denominational" or "Christian."
Geographic mobility and intermarriage create many of the changes in congregational membership all clergy confront on a daily basis. People may change denominations when they change neighborhoods, because one congregation is closer, has more activities they need (often child-related ones like day schools, youth groups, Bible study, etc) or the clergy leader. Numberous studies show people frequently change affiliation because they like specific pastors or rabbis.
Intermarriage creates a number of issues, depending on the degree of cultural continuity between the faiths couples bring to the union. In the past, what may today be considered minor differences between denominations could have caused schisms. Today the most heated discussions result from differences about what type of wedding ceremony will be acceptable to couples and their families.
The major cultural discontinuities today are created when adherents of two historically different faiths marry. Increasingly, Protestants of all types are marrying Roman Catholics, and Jews and Christians are marrying.
Interdenominational and interfaith unions take place despite the efforts of religious bodies and their clergy. Organizations from Catholic Youth Organization to a whole range of singles groups have been created to encourage co-religionists to meet..
I am familiar with J. Date, a Jewish online dating service, having assisted my wife in writing "ad copy" for others. I know the Jewish community is very concerned about reducing intermarriage, but it's sometimes difficult to describe the level or type of a single's commitment to the Jewish community. How conservative do you want to seem? Are you really reform or more fairly described as nominally or culturally Jewish?
Some Protestant bodies have bitten the bullet and give advice to members married to Catholics. The Lutheran, a denominational magazine gives some advice on how to help couples find "...some place we could attend together." Acknowledging that religious "brand loyalty" isn't what it was in the past, they look for positive ways to keep couples in the Christian community.
Of course, Lutheran-Catholic unions have more continuity than many others. I've known several Lutheran pastors happily married to active Catholics. (Full disclosure: I introduced one couple to each other.)
As an aside, I have to acknowledge the very pragmatic step the Catholic Church took in initiating Saturday Masses some years ago. That change was helpful to people whether or not they're in mixed marriages. They seem inconsequential, but ostensibly minor changes like worship schedules and new music can have major impacts on where people worship.
Because of our increasingly pluralistic and eclectic culture, an increasing number of conversions will take place in all faiths. There is a small movement from some mainline denominations to Eastern Orthodoxy, one manifestation of the growing interest in traditional faith and worship.
The invitation to disaffected Anglicans by the Catholic Church will not create major conversions, since many of the potential converts are already Anglo-Catholics for whom a change in pews may seem like just the latest version of the 19th century Oxford Movement.
Moving to the more extreme end of the continuum, we arrive at religious conversions that create major changes in worldviews, adopting the beliefs of an extreme sect or cult within one's own tradition or accepting a totally foreign faith.
I'll turn to radical conversions in my next posting, when I consider how the Christian faith came to be accepted in the Roman Empire.
And we'll look at how Madama Butterfly met her tragic end when she adopted faith in the American Empire.
For more info: I've mentioned it before, but the most useful sociological study of changes in American religion is still Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, The churching of America, 1776 - 1990 (1992).
On intermarriage, see Julie B. Sevig, Mixing it up: Roman Catholics find love, community with -- gasp! -- Lutherans. The Lutheran, October, 2009, p. 3- 39. And in the same issue, see the article on alternatives to traditional Sunday schedules: Tom Ehrich, How to reach people (who don't tune in to Sundays), pp. 20 -21.
An interesting account of a conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy is reported by Samuel G. Freedman, Migrating from Mainline to Orthodoxy, New York Times, October 3, 2009, p. A18. On the Catholic invitation to Anglicans, see Rachel Donadio and Laurie Goodstein, Vatican to ease Anglicans' way to Catholicism. New York Times, October 21, 2009, p. A1.
