How (Not) to be Secular? by James K.A. Smith Secular (1)—the earthly plane of domestic life as distinguished from the sacred. Secular (2)—areligious, neutral, unbiased, “objective” Secular (3)—a world in which it is possible to imagine not believing in God; religious belief is no longer axiomatic. Cross-pressured—The simultaneous pressure of various spiritual options or the feeling of being caught between an echo of transcendence and the drive toward immanentization. Immanent frame—A constructed social space that frames our lives entirely within a natural order, an order “whose working could be systematically understood and explained in its own term, leaving open the question whether this whole order had a deeper significance....” (Taylor, A Secular Age, p. 15) Exclusive humanism—A worldview that is able to account for meaning and significance without any appeal to the divine or transcendence. Self-transcendence—a turning of life toward something beyond ordinary human flourishing. (Taylor, p. 44) Fullness—The human impulsion to find significance, meaning, value—even within an entirely immanent frame. Spin—A construal of life in an immanent frame that does not recognize itself as construal. Does not grant plausibility to the alternative, Take—A construal of life in an immanent frame that is open to appreciating the viability of other takes. Modern Moral Order (MMO)—Understanding of morality that focuses on the organization of society for mutual benefit rather than obligation to higher or eternal norms. Faith Faith Development Theory and a Look at Faith Today Definitions of Faith Faith (in general) = one’s ultimate concern (Paul Tillich) Religious Faith = a relationship with God which engages a person’s total personhood; (Fischer and Hart reading); personal knowledge of God (Richard McBrien) Faith is not primarily belief in ideas but in God Difference between faith and “the faith”—the latter usually refers to a collection of “beliefs” Misunderstandings of the Meaning of Faith 1. Having faith is believing things, “assenting to truths”—the rationalist misunderstanding 2. Having faith is behaving morally—the moralist misunderstanding 3. Having faith is feeling something —the emotionalist misunderstanding These are all aspects of faith but faith cannot be reduced to any one of these. Key Points about Faith 1. “Faith seeks understanding and is a friend of reason.” (The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults) In the words of Vatican I, faith is “consonant with reason.” Faith and reason are compatible. Faith is not “blind faith.” 2. Although faith has a content (beliefs), what Christians believe in are not the formulas of faith but in the realities they express. 3. Faith is a commitment of the whole person, not just the intellect of the person. 4. Faith is both personal and communal. Faith Development Theory Fowler’s Stages of Faith Similar to Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Overview of the Stages.

1. How (Not) to be Secular? by James K.A. Smith
Secular (1)—the earthly plane of domestic life as distinguished
from the sacred.
Secular (2)—areligious, neutral, unbiased, “objective”
Secular (3)—a world in which it is possible to imagine not
believing in God; religious belief is no longer axiomatic.
Cross-pressured—The simultaneous pressure of various spiritual
options or the feeling of being caught between an echo of
transcendence and the drive toward immanentization.
Immanent frame—A constructed social space that frames our
lives entirely within a natural order, an order “whose working
could be systematically understood and explained in its own
term, leaving open the question whether this whole order had a
deeper significance....” (Taylor, A Secular Age, p. 15)
Exclusive humanism—A worldview that is able to account for
meaning and significance without any appeal to the divine or
transcendence.
Self-transcendence—a turning of life toward something beyond
ordinary human flourishing. (Taylor, p. 44)
Fullness—The human impulsion to find significance, meaning,
value—even within an entirely immanent frame.
Spin—A construal of life in an immanent frame that does not
recognize itself as construal. Does not grant plausibility to the
alternative,
Take—A construal of life in an immanent frame that is open to
appreciating the viability of other takes.

2. Modern Moral Order (MMO)—Understanding of morality that
focuses on the organization of society for mutual benefit rather
than obligation to higher or eternal norms.
Faith
Faith Development Theory and a Look at Faith Today
Definitions of Faith
Faith (in general) = one’s ultimate concern (Paul Tillich)
Religious Faith = a relationship with God which engages a
person’s total personhood; (Fischer and Hart reading); personal
knowledge of God (Richard McBrien)
Faith is not primarily belief in ideas but in God
Difference between faith and “the faith”—the latter usually
refers to a collection of “beliefs”
Misunderstandings of the Meaning of Faith
1. Having faith is believing things, “assenting to truths”—the
rationalist misunderstanding
2. Having faith is behaving morally—the moralist
misunderstanding
3. Having faith is feeling something —the emotionalist
misunderstanding
These are all aspects of faith but faith cannot be reduced to any

3. one of these.
Key Points about Faith
1. “Faith seeks understanding and is a friend of reason.” (The
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults) In the words of
Vatican I, faith is “consonant with reason.” Faith and reason are
compatible. Faith is not “blind faith.”
2. Although faith has a content (beliefs), what Christians
believe in are not the formulas of faith but in the realities they
express.
3. Faith is a commitment of the whole person, not just the
intellect of the person.
4. Faith is both personal and communal.
Faith Development Theory
Fowler’s Stages of Faith
Similar to Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
Overview of the Stages of Faith
Primal
Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith
Stage 2: Mythic-Literal Faith
Stage 3: Synthetic-Conventional Faith
Stage 4: Individuative-Reflective Faith
Stage 5: Conjunctive Faith
Stage 6: Universalizing Faith

4. Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith
Ages 2-7
See the ultimate in bible stories, fairy tales, or pictures and
combine fragments of these stories and images into their own
associations with God and the sacred.
“The circle of life for Jesus”—how my niece described a Celtic
cross in her church.
Stage 2: Mythic-Literal Faith
Ages 7-12
The ability to bind our experiences into meaning through
narratives
Learning the faith stories of the family’s religious community
Symbols and beliefs are interpreted literally
Stage 3: Synthetic-Conventional Faith
Ages 12-sometimes adulthood
Faith is conventional, dependent upon others, either peers or
adults
What others think of us is very important
Stage 4: Individuative-Reflective Faith
Ages (around) 20-
A critical look at the commitments, life-style, beliefs, and
attitudes previously taken for granted
A more personal and reflective faith

5. Shift from external sources of authority
Often takes place when “leaving home”
Membership in communities is chosen rather than just inherited
Time of tensions
Stage 5: Conjunctive Faith
Age 35 or “Midlife” and older
Time of integration of opposites: old and young, etc.
Like looking through a microscope and wide-angle lens at the
same time
Able to see others’ viewpoints
Beyond either/or thinking
Interested in learning about other traditions
May maintain commitment to previous tradition but would
understand it in a new way OR may commit oneself to a new
tradition
Stage 6: Universalizing Faith
Few attain this stage
See themselves as part of “the universe of all being”
Self-transcendent—committed to justice and love
Religion and Emerging Adults
21st Century Young Adults
Souls in Transition:
The Religious & Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults (2009)
by Christian Smith with Patricia Snell
Ch. 6-“SIX MAJOR RELIGIOUS TYPES”

6. Type 1--Committed Traditionalists
15% of the emerging adults
“I am really committed.”
Inner piety, personal moral integrity, privatized faith
Actively practice their faith
Significant part of their identity
Typically conservative white Protestantism, black
Protestantism, and Mormonism
Type 2--Selective Adherents
30% of emerging adults
“I do some of what I can.”
Fairly solid religious upbringing
Pick and choose what they want to accept from their religious
tradition
Selective with regard to church attendance, existence of hell,
drinking alcohol, birth control, taking drugs, sex before
marriage; belief in the Trinity and the divinity and resurrection
of Christ.
Type 3--Spiritually Open
15% of the emerging adults
“There’s probably something more out there.”
Receptive and mildly interested in some spiritual or religious
matters
Probably believe in some kind of higher power, but don’t know
what that is or what it means
Previously non-religious or are nominal or former believers in
some faith in which they were raised (often Catholicism or
mainline Protestantism)

7. Type 4—Religiously Indifferent
25% of the emerging adults
“It just doesn’t matter much.”
Neither care about religion nor oppose it; feel no guilt or
remorse about their lack of interest
May profess to be religious or at least appreciate religion, but
are too distracted or invested in other things in life to pay any
real attention to religion
Type 5--Religiously Disconnected
5% of emerging adults
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Little or no exposure or connection to religious people, ideas, or
organizations
Neither interested in or opposed to religion
They lack religious language competency
Type 6--Irreligious
10% of emerging adults
“Religion just makes no sense.”
Their general attitude toward religion is incredulous,
derogatory, and antagonistic
Many have paid attention to intellectual/existential questions
about religion and have decided against it
Some are angry toward religion and others are just mystified
that anyone would be interested in it
Most were raised in non-religious families or are ex-believers of
some faith in which they were raised

8. “Nones” on the Rise
“Nones” on the Rise
October 2012
Pew Research Center | Religion and Public Life
https://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/
Introduction
How (Not) to be Secular? by James K.A. Smith
Cross-pressured—The simultaneous pressure of various spiritual
options or the feeling of being caught between an echo of
transcendence and the drive toward immanentization.
Expressive individualism—The understanding that each one of
us has his/her own way of realizing our humanity and we are
called to live that out rather than conform to models imposed by
others (especially institutions).
Immanent frame—A constructed social space that frames our
lives entirely within a natural order, an order “whose working
could be systematically understood and explained in its own
term, leaving open the question whether this whole order had a
deeper significance....” (Taylor, A Secular Age, p. 15)
Exclusive humanism—A worldview that is able to account for
meaning and significance without any appeal to the divine or
transcendence.
Self-transcendence—a turning of life toward something beyond

9. ordinary human flourishing. (Taylor, p. 44)
Fullness—The human impulsion to find significance, meaning,
value—even within an entirely immanent frame.
Secular (1)—the earthly plane of domestic life as distinguished
from the sacred.
Secular (2)—areligious, neutral, unbiased, “objective”
Secular (3)—a world in which it is possible to imagine not
believing in God; religious belief is no longer axiomatic.
1. One of the points Smith makes is that the experience of the
secular age tends to vary quite a bit depending on where one
lives. What was your experience been of the place of faith and
religion in your hometown? Was religion a prominent part of
life there?
2. A key point Smith makes is that what has happened is “a shift
in the plausibility conditions that make something believable or
unbelievable.” With the people you know, what makes
something believable or unbelievable?
PAPER #4 ON LIVING IN A SECULAR AGE
Due: Thursday, June 4 at 11:59 pm
Length: 3-4 pages, double-spaced
Submission: Through Canvas file upload; .docx, .doc, or .pdf
only.
Topic: The Characteristics of a Secular Age
The Purpose of the Assignment

10. This assignment gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you
have learned in the course.
The Assignment
(1) Review the assigned readings, your notes, PowerPoints,
videos, and course handouts related to How (Not) Not to be
Secular by James K.A. Smith and In Praise of Wasting Time by
Alan Lightman.
(2) Engaging with and citing the readings, handouts,
discussions, and videos of this course, write a paper in which
you are in dialogue with the course material.
Identify three (3) characteristics of a secular age, as set forth in
either How (Not) to be Secular or In Praise of Wasting Time
and explain your perspective on each one, including how each
one has had an impact on you.
· Begin with an introduction.
· Be sure that you begin your discussion of each characteristic
with clear references to where it is found in the readings and
explain as clearly as possible the author’s perspective on it.
· Then, offer your own perspective and, in general terms, how
you have experienced this in your own life.
· End the paper with a one paragraph conclusion.
The Audience for the Paper
I am not asking you to write for any audience other than the
professor. Even though you may assume I know the contents
already, be sure that you write with a clarity that lets me know
that you understand what you heard and have given it careful
thought.

11. The Format
· In the right hand corner, please just put your name, UCOR
2100—Catholicism in a Secular Age and the date. This should
leave you more room for the actual content.
· Your paper should be in essay form; it should have an overall
introduction followed by paragraphs for each characteristic of a
secular age, and then a conclusion.
· Since you are required to use only sources from the course for
this paper,you may use a simplified form of citation for direct
quotations. Simply put the author or authors’ name(s) and page
number in parentheses after the quotation: (Smith, 3) or
(Lightman, 35). If you are using an electronic source without a
page number, put the chapter number or title after the author’s
name.
· You may use the word “I.” In fact, I encourage you to write in
the first person.
· Please note well the importance of demonstrating accurate
knowledge of the course material.
· If your paper is a personal reflection with no serious
engagement with the readings, lectures, and discussions of this
course, it may receive a failing grade. In other words, if your
paper could have been written the first day of class or by
someone who had never taken this course, it will not receive a
passing grade.
· The only sources you are to draw upon are the assigned
readings and your own experience. No further research is to be
done. References to books you have read for other courses is
fine.
As always, the SU Academic Integrity Policy applies.
Grading Criteria
In general, papers receiving the highest grades will be well
written (grammatically correct and spell-checked). More
specifically, below are the qualities of papers at each level:

12. A, A-: These papers exemplify excellence in form and content.
The writers of these essays use proper spelling, punctuation,
grammar, and word choice. They employ clear sentences and
intelligently organized paragraphs to communicate their ideas.
They include all required sections (A-C) and reference at least 2
readings.
Papers at this level present the most relevant points with great
clarity. Their analysis reveals depth of understanding. They
demonstrate careful thought and personal insight.
B+, B, B-: Papers at this level demonstrate solid preparation.
Grammatically and organizationally, these essays are essentially
correct and easy to follow. They include all required sections
(A-E) and reference at least 2 readings.
The difference between the B range papers and the A papers is
that the latter show a greater depth of understanding and
sophistication.
C+, C, C-: C essays are adequate. They are less effective in
writing style and less substantial in content. They may be
essentially accurate and basically meet the criteria of the
assignment, but offer only a superficial approach to the matter.
They may contain errors in understanding.
D+, D, D-: Papers at this level contain significant errors in
understanding and/or evidence careless preparation. They are
not effective in writing style. They may be lacking in required
content and may even be under the required length.
F: This grade is issued to papers which show serious
misunderstandings and/or are poorly written.
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