Rick Warren, 'America's Pastor' (Page 2)

Like many mass-market self-help books, The Purpose-Driven Life is upbeat, at least as accessible as a junior high school text and replete with aphorisms and acronyms. (Your "custom combination of capabilities is called your SHAPE: Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experience.") Warren tells his readers how to use his book as "a guide to a 40-day spiritual journey." His book is divided into forty chapters, and you're supposed to read one per day. Each chapter ends helpfully with a simple "Point to Ponder," a Bible "Verse to Remember" and a "Question to Consider."

Do I sound like a snarky, secular elitist? Perhaps. Inspirational books are easily derided by those whom they leave uninspired. But both secularists and religious liberals should respect and fear the movement reflected by this book's success. Warren looks forward to yet another Great Awakening in America (and perhaps the world) and even a Second Reformation, fueled partly by a new partnership between evangelical Protestants and Catholics. His optimism is not unfounded. The "Protestantization" of American Catholics, described by Alan Wolfe in The Transformation of American Religion, was demonstrated in the 2004 elections. Wolfe aptly admonishes liberals not to stereotype religious conservatives as close-minded extremists, noting that even conservative religious traditions are tempered by popular culture (the personal development movement, in particular, has had a marked effect across denominations). But if the absolute number of religious extremists in America is small, they enjoy disproportionate political power. That's why Rick Santorum remains in the Senate leadership while Tom Daschle has retired to private life, having been successfully opposed by the Catholic Church.

Rick Warren has played an important role in our latest passion play. So far he has shunned the political stage and claims he wants to be a pastor, not a "policymaker"; but he expresses frustration that the usual suspects, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, are still considered leaders of the evangelical movement (at least by the mainstream press). He cites "egocentric leadership" as our "number two" global problem and seems poised to try providing an alternative model of "servant leadership." Time has named him "America's pastor," he informs us, in the course of denying any interest in the title. Warren is mentioned as a successor to the ailing Billy Graham, and it's not hard to imagine him modestly accepting the mantle of America's leading evangelist.

What sort of leadership might Warren provide? He disassociates himself from the religious right, noting that he shares its position on social issues but doesn't want to focus on them. He focuses on poverty, disease and aid to Africa. But if Warren is part of a "new leadership cohort," as New York Times columnist David Brooks suggests, he sometimes sounds like a member of the old one. Lamenting the "tyranny of activist judges," who obstruct the will of the majority, he evinces no understanding of minority rights or the judiciary's role in enforcing them. Explaining his views about homosexuality and gay rights, he notes, "I don't think that homosexuality is the worst sin," and, "By the way, my wife and I had dinner at a gay couple's home two weeks ago. So I'm not [a] homophobic guy, okay?"

Warren's desire to avoid discussions of issues like abortion, stem cell research and gay rights seems genuine, and is obviously wise. His success derives in part from his focus on crusades that unite people--the alleviation of global poverty and disease. But his faith (like that of others) is inherently divisive. At the end of the day, God is a divider, not a uniter: Non-Christians, however devout, go to hell, along with nonbelievers, whom Warren regards, quite conventionally, as overcome by existential angst and essentially amoral. Without God, "life would have no purpose or meaning," he asserts. "There would be no right or wrong."

Whether or not another Great Awakening extends "meaning" and eternal life to the converted, it will have profound temporal ramifications for the rest of us (for whom the temporal realm continues to matter). Religious convictions, like other deeply held moral codes, provide both the courage to resist repression and the impulse to impose it. How will secularism and religious freedom fare if evangelical Christians become a predominant political force? What are the prospects of equal citizenship for those of us damned by our refusal to be born again in Christ? Should law reflect Christian notions of morality? Warren does not say.

If Warren's desire to save souls is luminescent, his political aspirations and notions of liberty are unclear. America's pastor says he is a pluralist, with apparent sincerity. But it is unrealistic to expect people who believe that salvation requires embracing Christ to accept secular laws and practices that defy what they consider His teachings. From their perspective, your liberty may be the least of what's at stake. People who respect your right to go to hell may have little regard for laws that tempt their children to go with you.

• « Previous
• 1
• 2

• Get The Nation at home (and online!) for 68 cents a week!
• If you like this article, consider making a donation to The Nation.
• Reprint this article. Click here for rights and information.