Religion and Theology

The Oxford American Collegiate Dictionary (Linberg Ed. 1063) defines postmodernism as a late 20th century style in the arts, architecture, and actions that represents a departure from modernism while modernism is a movement toward modifying traditional beliefs in accordance with modern ideas (Lindberg Ed. 866).  The postmodernist movement is a response to changes in the cultural, economic, educational, religious and social behaviors and values of people all over the globe, seen since 1960s and originating in the West, namely the United States of America.  Of note, however, is the impact of postmodern thinking on the evolution of faith and theology through the following phenomena 1.) A change in the world view, status and influence of the West, 2.) A global questioning and examination of the validity of concepts such as the benefits of economic development and Christian religious tenets and laws as benchmarks for accepted standards of behavior, 3.) The technological revolution and resulting globalism, including advances such as development of the Internet, and 4.) Pluralism, defined as a form of society in which minority groups maintain their independent cultural traditions a political system of power-sharing among political parties and a system of devolution and autonomy for individual bodies (Lindberg Ed. 1048).  In this paper, we will examine these four phenomena and religion through the following 1.) A look at the development of modernism and postmodernism, and 2.) Analysis of manifestations of postmodernism in regions around the globe, including Europe and Latin America.

Modernism  The Origin of It All
According to David Harvey, author of The Condition of Postmodernity An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, modernism was founded in the Industrial Revolution of 19th century in Europe and America.  During the prior one thousand-plus years, most people performed some form of farm labor, although there were specialized fields like skilled crafts, the church, and mercantilism that employed a smaller percentage of the worlds population.

By the mid-1800s, a new system for the creation and exchange of goods and services emerged.  Based on a stabilized, centralized labor force, this development called mass production transformed Western culture from agrarian to industrialized over the course of a few decades (Harvey 240).  Mass production, the production of large, standardized quantities by an automated mechanical process (Lindberg Ed. 831) changed the political and economic systems of the West.  People flocked from farms and manors to urban areas, seeking employment and opportunities at factories and other businesses that produced mass amounts of good and services.  Capitalism, the modernist political and economic system, emerged, characterized by private, per-profit control of national trade and industry

Modernist economic and scientific leaders generated numerous technologies advances during this period.  These included the automobile, the steam-powered locomotives and ships, the telephone and more.  In fact, Harvey also refers to industrialization as Fordism, named for pioneer automaker Henry Fords use of mass production to create cars and develop the American automobile industry (241).  Harvey also mentions Charles Darwin, creator of the theory of evolution, which suggested that all species, including humans, evolved based on natural selection, a process by which all living things survived only by developing genetic characteristics over successive generations.