Suchergebnisse

To identify the kind of a world in which one lives is a matter of serious consequence whether that be the world of pre-Christian Rome, of Aquinas and the age of faith, of Puritan New England, of the Enlightenment, of Victorian England, or of today. For one's understanding of his world enables him to address himself to it, in one way or another; and for the Christian this means the possibility of comparing it with God's intention for the world and ministering to it in his name. Ours is not the world that our fathers of a generation or two ago conceived it to be. The rise of totalitarianisms in a Europe once baptized; the rise of crime and the abandonment of Christian morality; the cri sis in belief in God and the dimini shing strength and influence of organized religion—these are but a few, though potent, evidences of that fact. We no longer take certain mores for granted. We do not go to war to make the world safe for democracy; we hope that we can retain it for ourselves! With disillusionment,pessimism, and even cynicism evident in all sectors of society it is little wonder that ours is being called a post-Christian era—in Europe, and also here.

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN IRAN FOR THEORIES OF POLITICAL MODERNIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT. IT IS ARGUED THAT THE EVENT IN IRAN AND THE SURROUNDING REGION REQUIRE THE REASSESSMENT OF CERTAIN BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF MAINSTREAM MODERNIZATION THEORIES, SUCH AS THE SHIFT TO SECULARISM.

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT MODERN POLITICS IS FUNDAMENTALLY SECULAR; REASONS FOR THIS TRUISM ARE RARELY EXPLORED. THE AUTHOR ASSESSES THE QUESTION BY DISTINGUISHING AND CONTRASTING THREE MAJOR VIEWS OF SECULARITY AND EXAMINING PRINCIPAL CHOICES INVOLVED IN THESE DIFFERING USES OF THE TERM. FIRST, THE NOTION OF SECULAR RELIGION IS EXAMINED AND THEN CONTRASTED WITH RATIONAL SECULARISM.

A discussion of the impact of US values on social policy affecting older people. A conceptual framework is developed that reveals the dual & often contradictory nature of the US value system, while demonstrating the interrelationships of fundamental value-laden issues such as adequacy/equity, work/leisure, & religion/secularism. HA.