Leaving Grand Rapids: Investigating the Postconservative Turn in Canadian Evangelicalism by Robin D. Willey A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology University of Alberta © Robin D. Willey, 2016 Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey Abstract For sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), the ‘sacred’ constitutes all those things “set apart and forbidden.” Sacred items or ideas are set in relationship to other sacred things within religious contexts. For Evangelical Christians, and to a lesser degree Protestants in general, the sacred has arguably centred on the individual believer and her/his personal relationship with God and scripture. Recently, however, a growing shift within Evangelical Christianity has emphasized the sacred nature of relationships and community, culminating in the mantra “God is love.” This turn has set community above the personal in the hierarchy of sacred Evangelical things—a shift that I describe an example of a postconservative Evangelical theo-politics. In this dissertation, I explore the various socio-historical foundations of this alteration in Canadian Evangelical theo-politics. In particular, I investigate the influence of Evangelical author, pastor, and Oprah Network star Rob Bell who possibly best exemplifies this change and its ramifications. Moreover, I discuss the ways in which postconservatism intersects with various other trends in North American social and religious life, including New Ageism, neoliberalism, and cosmopolitanism. I completed this analysis after collecting over seventeen months of ethnographic data investigating the presence and sources of postconservatism in Evangelical churches in Canada. ii Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey Preface This thesis is an original work by Robin D. Willey. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “Exploring Evangelical Life in Canada: Discussing Culture, Politics, and Community”, No. 00039265, 6/17/2013. iii Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey Dedication “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” -1 John 4:7-8 iv Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey Acknowledgements This project was completed with financial assistance from the Social Science and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the University of Alberta. My thanks go out to Dr. Stephen A. Kent for his guidance and support throughout my graduate studies at the University of Alberta. Moreover, his collection, The Stephen A. Kent Alternative Religions Collection, currently housed at the University of Alberta Library has been an invaluable resource, and has contributed to virtually every project I have completed at the University of Alberta, including this dissertation. Janine Muster and Lauren Jervis accompanied me on some of my ethnographic adventures in Grand Rapids and Toronto, respectively. My friend and chartered accountant, Alvin Lyste helped me work through my sample churches’ financial data. Terra Manca edited some of the early chapters in this document and helped me work out a number of methodological issues I encountered. Dr. Ronjon Paul Datta provided assistance in setting up the initial theoretical matrix for this project, and Dr. Patrick McLane and Peter Sabo helped ensure me that my theo-Durkheimian suspicions were worth pursuing. Recent conversations with Rev. Ken Flanagan, Lori Stewart, and Jack Jervis have provided much insight into what this project means for people in the United Church of Canada and have helped inspire and facilitate this dissertation’s peripheral Sacred Bathwater project. In addition, I am indebted to all the Evangelicals who participated in this study, many of whom openly invited me into their homes and churches—you folks never fail to surprise and enlighten this ethnographer. I would like to thank all those friends and family who have put up with me throughout my time as a graduate student. No doubt, I have passed through any number of intellectual trends that may have resulted in an unquantifiable level of annoyance. More seriously, however, I could v Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey not have finished this doctoral program without the generous emotional and financial assistance of my parents Doreen and Norman Willey. Finally, I would like to thank my partner Carolyn Jervis who, along with dedicating countless hours editing this dissertation, has felt the brunt of my graduate school and dissertation related angst. Carolyn, I am forever grateful for your intellect, patience, and empathy. vi Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey Table of Contents Chapter One: Theo-Political Beginnings: From Theo to Post-Conservative Evangelicalism 1 Defining Evangelicalism ........................................................................................................... 6 Naming a Movement ................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter Two: Postconservative Foundations: Charisma, the “Over-Churched,” and Grand Rapids, Michigan ........................................................................................................................ 16 Historical and Demographic Foundations ............................................................................ 17 Religious foundations............................................................................................................ 18 Demographic foundations ..................................................................................................... 21 Technological foundations .................................................................................................... 24 Socio-political foundations ................................................................................................... 25 Socio-cultural foundations .................................................................................................... 27 Charisma, Grand Rapids, and Rob Bell ............................................................................... 28 Bell’s charisma ..................................................................................................................... 29 Grand Rapids and the charismatic context ........................................................................... 30 Chapter Three: Defining and Exploring Evangelical Theo-politics: Doing a Multi-sited Ethnography ................................................................................................................................ 37 A Framework for Ethnographic Research in a Faith Community .................................... 38 Project Design and Fieldwork................................................................................................ 42 Ethical Considerations............................................................................................................ 44 Data Storage and Research Analysis..................................................................................... 46 Chapter Four: Shifting the Sacred: Rob Bell and the Postconservatism Evangelical Turn 47 Religion and the Sacred .......................................................................................................... 50 Evangelicalism and the Sacred: The Evangelical Trinity ................................................... 52 The scriptural ........................................................................................................................ 52 The individual ....................................................................................................................... 54 The communal ....................................................................................................................... 57 Rob Bell: A Postconservative Theo-Politics ......................................................................... 57 God is good ........................................................................................................................... 58 God is love ............................................................................................................................ 59 vii Leaving Grand Rapids Robin D. Willey God is complex ...................................................................................................................... 61 Shifting the Trinity ................................................................................................................. 63 Shifting the Religion ............................................................................................................... 63 Theo-Durkheimianism and Subjectification ........................................................................ 69 Chapter Five: From Essentially Conservative to Essentially Nuanced: The Complexities of Conservative Evangelicalism in Canada ................................................................................... 72 Arguments for a “conservative” Evangelicalism ................................................................. 73 Encountering conservative Evangelicalism .......................................................................... 75 Conservative churches .........................................................................................................