Religious Shift to Orthopraxy

Damian Thompson over at the Telegraph posits an interesting, if speculative, theory, the world's religions are de-emphasizing orthodoxy (right belief) for a renewed focus on orthopraxy (right behavior).  This is neither good nor bad, just a change of discussion.  Orthopraxy is just as apt for abuse as orthodoxy, and perhaps more so since it is easier to hide your divergent beliefs than aberrations of behavior. It would also seem to suggest a confession of defeat on the part of the faithful.  We can not win a philosophical debate, therefore we will not engage in one.

The Amish, Hasidic Jews and Salafist Muslims are all good at holding on to their flocks. These three groups have different attitudes to conversion – almost no one joins the Amish, a few secular Jews become Hasidic, lots of Muslims embrace strict observance – but their emphasis on behaviour rather than belief gives them a certain robustness in a sceptical 21stcentury. Mainstream Christianity, in contrast, still requires adherents to believe “six impossible things before breakfast”, to quote Lewis Carroll – and then to debate them earnestly with others.The Amish show that you can spend most of your time living the Gospel rather than thinking about it. (An example: when a gunman killed six Amish girls in 2006, their parents shocked the media by promptly forgiving him.) Perhaps there’s a hint of this in Pope Francis’s sermons, which focus on deeds rather than doctrine. At any rate, it’s a pleasing thought that the visitors gawping at the beardies in their buggies may, to some extent, be looking at the future of Christianity.