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Quote by Ross Douthat

“One of the things I try to do is take seriously some of the forms of American religion that people consider to be shallow and try and figure out why they have such a strong appeal and tease out the theology they actually represent.”

Quote by Ross Douthat

Author

Ross Douthat is an American author born on November 28, 1979. He is known for his works on political, religious, and social issues, characterized by in-depth analysis and critical thinking. more

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“The decline of institutional Christianity over the last 40 or 50 years has empowered a side of American religion that has always been there. The sort of do-it-yourself, "create your own Jesus" kind of faith. But, the forms that faith takes do have a real reason they are so appealing.”

Years Kind Real Reason Lasts Form Jesus Sides Christianity Decline Empowered Do It Yourself

Author:Ross Douthat

“I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all the way with Osteen to the idea that God wants you to have this big house and so on, the nature of American religion right now, the fact that it is so non-denominational and post-denominational, the most successful churches have to be run more like businesses than ever before. I think that just exposes Christians to a constant temptation to think about the ministry more as a business than they sometimes should.”

Thinking Way Want Should Ideas Sometimes Facts Bigs Running Christian House Church Christianity Successful Right Now Areas Constant Temptation Posts Ministry Big Houses

Author:Ross Douthat

“Every Christian in every time and place is going to be tempted by certain forms of heresy. I'm sure I'm tempted by my own.”

Christian Form Certain My Own Tempted Heresy

Author:Ross Douthat

“I do think that evangelicals in general need to think seriously about how you pass on your faith across generations and over the long haul.”

Thinking Needs Long Generations Haul Long Haul

Author:Ross Douthat

“Just as the superstar pastor model can have its problems once the superstar pastor gets old or has a scandal or something, the house church model... there's a reason that the house churches of the New Testament era grew up into a more institutional faith down the road.”

Reason Problem House Church Grew Grew Up Models Eras Pastor Testament Scandal New Testament Down The Road Superstar

Author:Ross Douthat

“In the end, you do need institutions to transmit the faith for the long haul. That's why I make the case that, in certain ways, American Protestants could stand to recover the denominationalism that they've left behind over the last 50 years. They are real values in having a confessional tradition that can sustain your faith over the long term.”

Way Needs Years Long Real Ends Lasts Certain Values Left Term Behinds Cases Tradition Institutions Long Term Left Behind Protestants Transmit Haul Real Value Long Haul

Author:Ross Douthat

“In many ways, American evangelicalism is somewhat stronger today than it was in, say 1955 - certainly more mainstream and influential in the culture as a whole. But, the increased strength of evangelicalism hasn't increased fast enough to compensate for the total collapse of mainline Protestantism and the pretty steady weakening of my own Roman Catholic Church.”

Way Enough Whole Today Culture Church My Own Stronger Catholic Steady Mainstream Collapse Influential Catholic Church Weakening Protestantism Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Church

Author:Ross Douthat

“It's clearly the case that there's not some moment in American history when every evangelical is holding hands with every Catholic who is holding hands with every mainline Methodist, or what have you. Obviously, American Christianity was deeply divided in all kinds of ways at mid-century too. But there was a kind of convergence going on. Even though Reinhold Niebuhr, the great mainline Protestant theologian, didn't think highly of Billy Graham, he and Graham still, clearly, had more in common, both theologically and in their attitudes toward religion in public life.”

“I think it is very clear that, though great difference remained, evangelicals moved closer to Catholics, mainline Protestants and evangelical Protestants moved closer together, and this convergence coincided with greater institutional strength for all the Christian churches than, for the most part, you see today.”

Thinking Today Christian Together Differences Church Clear Greater Catholic Moved Protestants Evangelical Christian Church Convergence

Author:Ross Douthat

“It's just silly to look at the incredibly steep decline in the mainline and the clear institutional weakening of Catholicism in the 1960s and 70s and pretend that something really big didn't change then. It did change. There really was a significant institutional decline.”

Looks Bigs Clear Silly Significant Catholicism Decline 1960s Steep Weakening

Author:Ross Douthat