Subjectivization and the New Evangelical Theodicy

Modern culture, for a variety of structural reasons, is distinguished by a subjectivism - an orientation marked not so much by vanity as it is by an incessant preoccupation with the hitherto "undiscovered" complexities of the self. Evangelicalism accommodates to this cultural situation by expanding the parameters of its theodicy. No longer does the conservative Protestant theodicy deal exclusively with the problems of suffering, grief, and death. Included within the new theodicy are the attempts to cope with the endless musings of modern intra-subjectivity: "psychological balance," "emotional maturity," "self-actualization" and so on. By a thematic content analysis of Evangelical mass market and trade monographs (N = 1609), and substantive content analysis of a sub-sample of the same, the intricacies of this phenomenon are explored. The consequences of this adaptation for American Evangelicalism are also examined. The twentieth century pundits (social scientific, theological, and others) who prophesied the ineluctable and imminent dissolution of religion in the face of modernity have long since been silenced by contrary evidence. Religion, it is plain to see, has taken a stalwart stand against the forces of secularization. This case is especially clear in contemporary America with the resurgence of neo-Eastern, neo-Pagan, and neoChristian religiosity. Yet, the matter of the relationship between religion and modern society is not settled. While modernity may not necessarily displace religion, it does impose undeniable structural and cultural constraints which require adjustment or accommodation on the part of the latter. Evangelicalism, as currently celebrated, has taken pride in an alleged immutability in the presence of these forces; unlike liberal Christianity, it boasts of its role as preserver of the historic faith. Yet, if there is, a la Weber, an elective affinity between social structure, culture and human consciousness, then it is reasonable to suppose that some accommodation to the constraints of modernity has taken place even in the Evangelical worldview. This essay seeks to explore the ways in which Evangelicalism adjusts to one important dimension of modernity: modern subjectivization.