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In Search of Authenticity

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In Search of Authenticity In Search of Authenticity The Religiosity of Christian Evangelicals Francesca E. S. Montemaggi Cardiff University School of Planning and Geography This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY, 30th SEPTEMBER 2013. DECLARATION: This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ……………………………………………………… (candidate) Date 30/09/13 STATEMENT 1 This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. Signed ……………………………………………………… (candidate) Date 30/09/13 STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work and investigation, except otherwise stated. Other sources are explicitly acknowledged with references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ……………………………………………………… (candidate) Date 30/09/13 STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter- library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ……………………………………………………… (candidate) Date 30/09/13 NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF THESIS: POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH DEGREES SECTION A: TO BE COMPLETED BY THE CANDIDATE AND SUBMITTED WITH THE THESIS CANDIDATE’S LAST NAME MONTEMAGGI CANDIDATE’S FIRST NAME(S) FRANCESCA EVA SARA CANDIDATE’S ID NUMBER 0735458 SCHOOL PLANNING AND GEOGRAPHY TITLE OF DEGREE PhD IN SEARCH OF AUTHENTICITY. THE RELIGIOSITY OF FULL TITLE OF THESIS CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS IS THIS A RESUBMISSION? NO THESIS SUBMITTED FOR Permanent Binding EXAMINATION IN Temporary binding CANDIDATE SIGNATURE DATE Summary The dominant theories in the sociological literature identify religion with propositional belief in the transcendent and belonging to and attendance at religious services. This understanding of religion replicates a past Protestant model that fails to account for contemporary religious forms, including Protestant forms. Drawing on Georg Simmel, one of the fathers of sociology, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution by reinterpreting and systematising Simmel’s notions of religiosity as a sensitivity, and of belief as trust, to enhance the understanding of contemporary individual religious identity. The use of these notions and of Simmel’s nuanced perspective on individuality enables the development of a theoretical framework for the understanding of authenticity. The study focuses on individual religiosity, which has been largely neglected by the literature. The most influential theories that have paid attention to the role of the individual – rational choice theory and spirituality studies – have centred on individual self authority and neglected to conceptualise the self. Accordingly, the thesis provides a relational account of the self, on which to ground authenticity as a process of identity formation. The narratives and practices, which emerged from the empirical research, have revealed the construction of Christianity through the prism of authenticity, as a distinctive and ‘truer’ way of living. This construction of authentic Christianity testifies to a shift from doctrinal adherence to a more pluralistic discourse by emphasising an overarching ethics of compassion over exclusive claims to truth. Thus, pluralism offers Christian evangelicals the platform to articulate the particularistic tradition of Christianity, whilst retaining a claim to – what they understand to be – universal truth. i Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr Sara Delamont (Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences) for rescuing me from the quagmire of ethnographic research, for providing a direction, and for making herself available to answer all my questions related to the fieldwork. Above all, Sara has introduced me to the study of social life and made me see how everyday gestures, words and actions make up the fabric of our social world. I applaud Dr Huw Thomas, my supervisor, for his tenacity in reading my work over the past four years, notwithstanding the disciplinary divide and the abstruse Simmelian philosophy. In particular, I would like to thank Huw and Dr Richard Gale, my second supervisor, for their moral support and friendly chats and complaints about the state of academia. I am also very grateful to Dr Matthew Francis (Lancaster University) and Dr Matthew Guest (Durham University) for reading chapter two and commenting on it; to Dr Finn Bowring (Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences) for reading a draft of chapter six and promoting Sartre delicately; and to Dr Andrew Edgar (Cardiff University, School of English, Communication and Philosophy) for reading a rather rough draft of chapters five, six and seven, and yet somehow making sense of them. I am grateful to my friend Marion Carling who proof-read chapters four to seven, all the way from Connecticut and to my friend Nick Speed for proof-reading the particularly tedious methodology chapter. Finally, I would like to thank the people of Bethlehem church, especially the members of the home group I attended, for allowing me into their lives and trusting me with what they hold dear and true, for being accepting and supportive, and for being friends to a stranger. ii I dedicate this work to my parents and to my late teacher Sante Amaduzzi, who in their own peculiar ways have instilled in me the curiosity and love for the works of the human mind. “…I went into science a great deal myself at one time; but I saw it would not do. It leads to everything; you can let nothing alone.” Mr Brooke, Middlemarch (Eliot 1872/2008, p. 16) iii Table of Contents Summary p. i Acknowledgements p. ii Dedication p. iii Table of Contents p. iv 1. In Search of Religion p. 1 2. Modern Religion and the Individual p. 15 3. Methodology p. 73 4. Georg Simmel, ‘Sociologist of Modernity’ p. 114 5. Authenticity p. 153 6. Authentic Self and Tradition p. 175 7. Religion, Legitimacy, and Ethics p. 203 8. From Doctrine to Authenticity p. 226 9. The Authenticity of Being a Christian p. 259 10. Authentic Ethics p. 286 11. Conclusions p. 317 Appendix A p. 331 Appendix B p. 333 Appendix C p. 335 Bibliography p. 336 iv Chapter One In Search of Religion 1. Finding Georg Simmel The thesis makes a contribution by proposing a theoretical framework in the sociology of religion for an understanding of the construction of individual religious identity. It achieves this by developing the concept of authenticity. I formulate authenticity in the thesis as a process of identity construction that requires interpretation of one’s religious tradition (cf. chapter six), and participation in defining its boundaries by attributing value to its components (cf. chapter seven). This results from an interpretation and development of key notions in Georg Simmel’s sociology of religion and ethnographic fieldwork in a Christian evangelical church in the UK. Simmel was one of the founders of sociology; yet, his work in sociology of religion has received relatively little attention. He has exercised enduring influence on scholars, such as Paul Heelas (2007 and 2008) and Kieran Flanagan 1 (1996; 2007; 2008). Nevertheless, Simmel’s insights have suffered from lack of systematisation and application. Simmel’s approach to sociology of religion has been contrasted with that of Durkheim (Cipriani 1998; Simon 2006) and Troeltsch (Starr 1996). Watier (1996) presented Simmel’s notion of religiosity as “diffused” religion, present in numerous manifestations, while Varga (2007) underlined its affinity with “spirituality”. Similarly, McCole (2005) and Erickson (2001) explored its metaphysical aspects. Laermans (2006) analysed Simmel’s work on religion in relation to his formal sociology, and Vandenberghe (2010) offered a phenomenological reading of it. Simmel’s study of religion is part of his complex and wide- ranging sociology, which is underpinned by a shifting philosophical framework and inconsistent terminology. Thus, his work is not amenable to simple application; rather it requires careful consideration, interpretation and development. What makes Simmel’s insights on religion compelling is the fact that religion is part of a broader thinking on modernity and social relations. This allows an approach for the understanding of religious life, not as separate from the rest of social life, but as a key component of it (cf. chapter four). However, for the purposes of this introductory chapter, it is perhaps necessary to reflect on a more practical question that a reader might, by now, have in mind: how does a thesis on Georg Simmel and sociology of religion sit at the School of Planning and Geography at Cardiff University? The answer lies in a personal journey, which needs to be mentioned to acquaint the reader with my own research perspective. Before venturing into my doctorate, I was a Cardiff city councillor and a policy and public 2 affairs professional. I wanted to research the involvement in the public sphere of religious communities with a view to developing policy. That never happened as I wandered into a Simmelian universe ‘in search for authenticity’. It all began in the summer of 1995, when I had to decide which university degree to choose. My father wanted me to study law. I was interested in philosophy and religion. ‘Law’ was his answer. I offered to study political science. ‘Law’, he replied. So I enrolled at the University of Bologna to read law and left the country two years later. In Britain, I developed a strong commitment to issues of justice and democracy and, in the most roundabout way, I ended up working in politics and public affairs. In 2004, I was elected to Cardiff County Council where I served for two terms. I learned what democracy was about, by fighting with council officers, developers, fellow councillors and constituents. Then, came the general elections of 2005. Conservative politicians, of whichever party, seemed to be using the ‘religious card’ to appeal to reactionary values, while liberals seemed to regard religion as something one does ‘in private’, like playing bridge and using pornography.
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