Brad S. GregoryThe Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society

The Unintended Reformation, by Brad S. Gregory, is one of the most brilliant books i have read on the transformation of the culture of western Christendom into our current secularized society, and i have read hundreds. By "unintended," Gregory contrasts with the 'intended' Reformation, the much needed, well, reform, of the corrupt hierarchy of the Catholic church of the time, along with its distortion of perennial Christian doctrine. The the non-intention of Luther et al. was what resulted 'on the ground,' the creation of Christian denominations which exist til this day.On p. 365, toward the end of the book in its conclusion, Gregory restated his thesis: ". . .medieval Christendom failed, the Reformation failed, confessionalized Europe failed, and Western modernity is failing, but each in different ways and with different consequences, and each in ways that continue to remain important into the present." Yet in that same conclusion, Gregory warns against "nostalgia," for none of those eras were as great as their public relations directors thought or think them to be.He makes clear the 'forest' of the broad currents running through those centuries, but also underscores the 'trees' that each human actor in those years had free will. He shows how the Romantic era, as epitomized by Schliermacher in theology, stressed religion as feeling, but what if you don't, as many do not today, have that feeling, as some don't appreciate classical music. Gregory boldly asserts on p. 112, despite the intention of the Reformers, that they had no criteria of truth, even the Scriptures, because they were interpreted by private judgment, which led to the 'anything goes' fiasco we have today.The enlightenment philosophes thought that they were being independent and objective, but they were just reporting the thoughts and feelings of their social set, much as in 1972, Pauline Meier wondered how Richard Nixon could have won 49 states, because in her rarified elitist circle, she "didn't know anyone who voted for him." The foundational documents of the United States as nation were purposely left empty of theistic or Christian doctrines, because it was implicitly presumed that the US was and would continue to exist on a foundation of Judaeo-Christianity as a country.I was surprised at Gregory's formulation on p. 159 of Christian doctrine as "...the Father's incarnation as Jesus."All in all, though, while not totally uncritical of the excesses of contemporary neo-conservative empire-building and consumerism, Gregory masterfully decodes the modern world, and shows that our current superficial western sociey is termite-ridden, a hollow shell, and has been for centuries.

My comments here build on earlier reviews, especially Christian Smith's and Thomas Smith's.This book is a great achievement. Here I'd like to focus on what it brings to professional historians.I am in graduate school and my experience of this book is close to what Thomas Smith said he hoped would happen to readers who are entering the academy. It's premature but this book may end up being as important as MacIntyre's After Virtue. However, it is a work of a historian rather than a philosopher and it has the particular strengths of a historian that a philosopher lacks: a great sensitivity to the details of ritual, everyday life, economic changes, political decisions, etc. Gregory's great contribution is his keen sense of how practices and thought impact each other (and some philosophical training seems evident here).Though obviously a longish book, it seems a short book to me for how much it accomplishes. Many of the theorists of the past century and a half (Nietzsche, Heidegger, and other philosophers but especially the profoundly influential Weber and Foucault) are engaged well. My profession is dominated by these thinkers and their intellectual offspring. Gregory, engaged in a critique, briefly acknowledges the good that they have contributed (naive objectivity or positivism of some 19th century historians is no longer possible) but is more concerned to describe the negative effects of their thought and to argue against them- usually it is a question of the premises of their thought rather than mistakes in reasoning. Gregory has argued for a new space in the academy. I hope that he treats these questions in greater detail, or that some other author will develop Gregory's insights here.It is bound to be sharply criticised by both the right and the left because Gregory challenges both in a penetrating analysis. (critical of secular dominance in certain arenas as well as smug Christian consumers)Like MacIntyre's After Virture (1981), Gregory has made a big step forward. The claims in this book are huge and it needs to be unpacked (could he please make this a trilogy?). I look forward to reading more from Gregory. Really, an intellectual thrill. Give it a full week of three or four hour evenings to soak it in. The longer footnotes (i.e. not just the bibliographical references) enhance the experience.