Synopsis
A theology embracing secularization and urbanization as liberating, arguing Christians should welcome the secular city rather than mourn lost religious authority.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workSecularization frees humanity from religious tutelage and the modern city is where mature faith can act responsibly, so the church should affirm the secular age, not resist it.
It reverses the usual lament about secularization by treating it as a fulfillment of biblical themes rather than a threat to faith.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with Charles Taylor, A Secular Age.
Reading note
Read it as an optimistic period piece whose confidence Cox himself later tempered as religion's resurgence surprised him.
Best paired with
Charles Taylor, A Secular Age