Page - 134 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 2:2

135 | www.limina-graz.eu Laurens ten Kate | Strange Freedom 2 The Liberal-Religious Condition The Question of Liberal Religion – The Question of Humanism What is liberal religion? The unique Dutch word vrijzinnigheid (the standard English translation is ‘liberal religion’) provides the underlying structure for my argument. It is made up of two root words: vrijheid [freedom] and zin [sense]: vrij-zin-nigheid. Before we go into a philosophical analysis of these two words, first a brief historical excursion on liberal religion as part of the colorful landscape of modern worldview trends. Liberal-religious groups and movements have flanked the dominant reli- gious traditions throughout the modern period, and they have a fascinat- ing history. It extends from the Mennonites and Remonstrants, who arose in the early Dutch modern period, to the heyday of liberal religion in the 19th century: the emergence of the free congregations in the Netherlands, and the Unitarian and Universalist churches and religious humanists in the United States. An organized humanist movement also arose in the Nether- lands during the 19th century, partly in relation to liberal religion. In the Netherlands today, liberal religion is understood mainly as a progressive variant of Protestantism, although liberal-religious movements are also found in the Catholic church, especially after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Liberal religion and humanism can be understood only in the context of their varied relationships. For example, humanists and liberal- religious Protestants joined each other in the pacifist struggle at the be- ginning of the 20th century. And after World War II many liberal-religious believers left their small church communities and became members of the Dutch Humanist League. Liberal religion thus stands for an undogmatic and inclusive Christianity, one that does not present itself as the only true religion. It is sometimes in- spired by Eastern forms of spirituality such as Buddhism. Liberal faith em- phasizes the creativity and responsibility of the individual believer. Indeed, throughout the modern era, the debate over free will was an important factor in the tensions and breaks with the mainstream orthodox churches. Liberal-religious movements also originated in resistance to feudal and clerical authorities, with their hierarchical organizational structures, and in opposition to the absolute monarchy with which ecclesiastical power mercy of the complex manipulations of the modern culture industry, in the delusion that we should be the ‘free’ users of culture.” (Translation P. Rasor) Groeneweg compares the neoliberal marketing of culture with the ways in which radical Islam becomes disconnected from its own cultural foundation, a process that is analy- zed in detail by French political sci- entist Olivier Roy in Holy Ignorance: When Religion and Culture Part Ways (Roy 2013). I endorse not only the possibility but also the necessity of this comparison. Liberal religion stands for an undogmatic and inclusive Christianity.