Rethinking Secularization: Reformed Reactions to Modernity

Rethinking Secularization challenges the theme that modernity has led to secularization. Drawing on 16 case studies of the Reformed community around the globe, this volume shows that religious vitality at the personal level is often evident in the face of secularization on the national or denominational level. The sixteen articles consider aspects of the recent history of the Dutch Reformed community, both in the Netherlands and in diaspora. Sociologists, historians, and theologians have contributed to this multicultural analysis, which spans the globe from the Netherlands to South Africa, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United States. Subjects under investigation range from Christian organizations (such as Pine Rest Christian Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo) to denominations in transition (such as the Amish, Mennonites, and Reformed responses to sabbatarian traditions) to broader theological trends (such as changing theological formulations in the wake of apartheid in South Africa). Contributors: Gerard Dekker, Lynn Winkels Japinga, Robert P. Swierenga, Dirk Th. Kuiper, Harry A. Van Belle, Dennis N. Voskuil, Bonganjalo Goba, Mark R. Mullins, Bradley G. Breems, Hijme C. Stoffels, Marthy P. Veerman, Hendrik J. C. Pieterse, Michael L. Yoder, James M. Penning, Corwin E. Smidt, Roger J. Nemeth, Donald A. Luidens, Richard E. Houskamp, and Roger R. Rice.