Wishful Thinking: A Common Faith
In his book A Common Faith, John Dewey makes some very reasonable points, he presents three major themes, he first establishes a line in the sand between "the religious" and religions themselves as experience, he advocates for the liberation of true religious qualities from the longstanding traditions of religions backed by supernatural faith in order to find “a common faith” between theist and non-believers like atheist and agnostics, a democratic faith which is not confined to “sect, class, or race.” This common faith that Dewey is speaking of keepings the values given by religion without the supernatural aspect. The second main idea asserts God as the "creative intersection of the ideal or possible and the real or actual," in other words God is a group of ideals. Dewy seeks to inform the reader that the religious attitude is not dependent on traditional religious doctrines. This is because he is afraid that those who strayed away from religion like atheist and agnostics would also leave the values behind. The third main point establishes the way religions came into existence and how it has changed overtime, he explains "the infusion of the religious as a pervasive mode of experience into democratic life" (pg. xxii), in other words, the way religious ideals were something everyone could agree upon. In this paper I will explore these main points given by Dewey and explain some obstacles I feel society needs to overcome in order to find a common faith.
Dewey starts his book by explaining two different groups, the religions and the religious. He associates religion with the traditional religions of the world, things like the supernatural aspect, a divine deity that acts as the authority for the world according to the particular religion, this supernatural aspect is a must for those who believe in that religion, a faith based on creeds and rituals. He states that the religious is more fluid and denotes dispositions more toward objects, ideals and values. He explains why he believes the supernatural aspect of religions should be left behind. Dewey argues that the religions should be set free from their traditional customs and supernatural deity, he believes that this will widen the spectrum of possibilities to better the world by disregarding the limitations set by religions ruled by faith in the supernatural laws that are cemented and unchanging, he explains “the claim on the part of religions to possess a monopoly of ideals and of the supernatural means by which alone, it is alleged, they can be furthered, stands in the way of the realization of distinctively religious values inherent in natural experience” (pg. 25). I very much agree with this point, religion brings much restriction to ideas that would move the world into a better place, things like the obstruction in the field of genetics where before any great step in the field there is usually a debate on the morality, on whether we humans should be “playing god”, the field of genetics is one that could greatly help humanity in the medical industry. Another example is also the way women are affected by the laws of religion, countries where religious law greatly influences that of the government, women are usually more oppressed and deprived of rights.
While Dewey believes we should leave the supernatural behind, he thinks it is important to keep the values that religion brings to the table. He further explains the way that the idea of God is the juncture between what’s possible and what is real, “religious quality of experience” deals with the values, traditionally these values include sacrifice, justice, beauty, integrity, honesty, etc., Dewey believes these values are god themselves, not some divine deity. Dewey “would not insist that the name must be given, (pg.47)”, referring to the name “god”. He suggests that we might reconceive of “God” as the ideals that one would say have authority over us. “God” is an ideal because the word names “ideal possibilities unified through imaginative realization and projection” (pg.47). Ultimately the author wants to convey the message that one does not need a religion to be religious. I myself as an agnostic would not call these values god, as I relate the word far too much with a divine being, but I would understand someone with a theist point of view using that word. I believe a theist would need something a bit more inspiring. I understand the idea of being religious without following a religion, I consider myself to be this type of person, I may not believe in a supernatural god, but I believe in who I am and my values. Values that represent respect, sacrifice, honesty and other values along those lines. Unfortunately, this is not the case around the world, especially from those who are theist but lack respect for other religions and people who they deem different. I don’t mean to say the religion made them that way, but it adds another form of division within the population. I find that many theist, not all, feel superior to other people who follow a different religion because they think theirs is the one true religion. These situations usually lead people to completely turn a blind eye to any form of reason offered. An good example is the current political climate in the US, I find that if you look at what that the left and right want, many times they would agree on some issues, obviously there are other clear differences, but on some instances, because of the hate one side has for the other, you get people who end up voting against their own interest. It is a problem of people not looking at the bigger picture, I see this as a huge obstacle to finding a common faith.
In the 3rd chapter, Dewey explains how it was that religions came to be. He explains that in the past “Legends and myths grow up in part as decorative dressings, in response to the irrepressible human tendency toward story-telling, and in part as attempts to explain ritual practices. Then as culture advances, stories are consolidated, and theogonies and cosmogonies are formed” (pg.55). He compares the past, present and future of religion and the changes it has undergone, he explains that more important than the shift from religion to science, a shift of religion being an important feature of social, economic, and political life to religion being a comparatively isolated set of personal beliefs and practices. For the future Dewey hopes that human beings will realize that in fact the values that are often taught in religions are idealizations of things that are typical of healthy human society, which in the past, were turned into religion with a supernatural authority behind it to preserve those ideals.
Dewey thinks that we are at a moment where our existing social structure has lots of problems, enough to push people towards faith in something supernatural, he explains “if one chooses, arrive at the triumphant conclusion that social relations are so debased that the only re- course is to supernatural aid. The general disorder of the Great War and succeeding decades has led to a revival of the theology of corruption, sin, and need for supernatural redemption.” (pg. 69). We can no longer depend upon the supernatural to make things better. He critiques churches failing to act “A case could be made out for the position that the churches have lagged behind in most important social movements and that they have turned their chief attention in social affairs to moral symptoms, to vices and abuses, like drunkenness, sale of intoxicants, divorce, rather than to the causes of war and of the long list of economic and political injustices and oppressions.” (pg.64). I highly agree with this idea, but I believe there is still a special bond that theist feel they have with their supernatural god, I feel that it is a safety net to every problem someone can have, and just having values can’t do much to replace that relationship. After tradition, I believe this is the 2nd biggest reason people don’t leave religions.
Dewey presents an idea to unite atheists, agnostics, and theist in “a common faith.” People should believe in the supernatural if they want to, but they point is that everyone can have a set of ideals that is for everyone and agreed by everyone. He says, “The unification of what is known at any given time, not upon an impossible eternal and abstract basis but upon that of its bearing upon the unification of human desire and purpose, furnishes a sufficient creed for human acceptance, one that would provide a religious release and reinforcement of knowledge” (pg.79). I coincide with Dewey and “A Common Faith”, but for every person like me there is always one who would disagree, even if you’re just talking about what the correct values are. Ultimately, I think the path to “A Common Faith” the education into societies to become more open minded.