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Thursday 9 September 2010

The future does not look good for those heirs of the Enlightenment and others who predicted that Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and other such faiths would be converted to “tolerance” and acceptance of the other, as softer-edged teachings would prevail. These were code-named “liberal.” Today trends pointing to tomorrow show that hundreds of millions react to the challenges of modernity by becoming more exclusive, intolerant, and “fundamentalist” in closed-minded and aggressive ways. Not all those who look ahead think that these hard-line tendencies will always dominate; they fail to meet too many human needs and reduce the messages of the ancient texts in these traditions. Everywhere, hierarchies are in trouble. In industrialized nations and emerging societies alike, there is growing mistrust of institutional forms, such as denominations and ecumenical councils. The trend and growth point to ever more local authority. Martin E. Marty

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