Abstract
How new is the study of nonreligion and how new is the phenomenon itself? Beyond statistics, there are many ways of reexamining the “golden era” of religion, when entire populations were seen as religious. Theoretically, nonreligion has a long history, especially in philosophy. The recent interest in nonreligion is based rather on empirical curiosity, seeking to know more about ordinary nones, the way they view the world and the meaning of life, and how they establish their lives on ethical principles. After a brief examination of the interest Christians have taken in the nonreligious, this chapter will explore a valuable and largely unexplored case study in this regard: the outcomes of the dialogue between Catholics and nonbelievers since the 1960s, particularly the meaning of faith, beyond religion, and the importance of common ground between all human beings. The theoretical proposal stemming from this research is that we should move away from the frequent reduction of nonreligion to atheism or agnosticism which is centered on certain sets of beliefs. This will enable us to get to the core, which is the deep human movement of faith that can be religious, not religious or both at once.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Benedict XVI. (2009, December 21). Address to the Roman Curia. Retrieved July 2, 2020, from http://www.cultura.va/content/cultura/en/dipartimenti/ateismo-e-non-credenza/discorso-di-fondazione-di-benedetto-xvi.html.
Charron, A. (1976). Qu’est-ce que l’incroyance ? Précisions et définitions [What Is Unbelief ? Precisions and Definitions]. Nouveau Dialogue, 17, 9–21.
Charron, A. (1992). Croyances et incroyances: Qu’est-ce à dire ? [Belief and Unbelief: What Does it Mean?]. In A. Charron, R. Lemieux, & Y. R. Théroux (Eds.), Croyances et incroyances au Québec [Belief and Unbelief in Quebec] (pp. 108–151). Fides.
Charron, A., Lemieux, R., & Théroux, Y. R. (1992). Croyances et incroyances au Québec [Belief and Unbelief in Quebec]. Fides.
Comité de Recherche de l’Assemblée des évêques du Québec sur les communautés chrétiennes locales [Research Committee of the Quebec Assembly of Bishops on Local Christian Communities]. (1992). Risquer l’avenir: bilan d’enquête et prospective [Risking the Future: Assessment and Prospective]. Fides.
Girardi, J. (1967). L’Église face à l’humanisme athée [The Church in the Face of Atheistic Humanism. In Vatican II, L’Église dans le monde ce temps. Commentaires [Vatican II. The Church in the Modern World. Comments] (T. II, pp. 329–387). Cerf.
Goffi, T. (1983). Athée [Atheist]. In S. De Fiores, & G. Tullo (Eds.), Dictionnaire de la vie spirituelle [Dictionary of Spiritual Life] (pp. 70–77). Cerf.
Grand’Maison, J., et al. (1995). Le défi des générations [The Challenge of Generations]. Fides.
John Paul II. (1982). Letter to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Secretary of State. 20 May 1982; Insegnamenti, vol. V/2, 1982, pp. 1777 ff.); quoted in Motu proprio, Ibid.
Jones, C. (2010, 17051). Against Indifference in Religion. A sermon Preached in the Cathedral Church of Wells, Before the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Baron Ward, and… London: Gale ECCO.
Lamennais, F. R. de (1895, 18291). Essays on Indifference in Matters of Religion. John Macqueen.
Le Bras, G. (1933). De l’état présent de la pratique religieuse en France [About the Present State of Religious Practice in France]. Revue de folklore français, IV, 193–206.
Le Bras, G. (1956). Études de sociologie religieuse [Studies of Religious Sociology]. T. II, PUF.
Leduc, L. (1973). Cheminement de deux groupes montréalais. In J. Richard, P.-E. Langevin, & E. TrÉpanier (Eds.), L’incroyance au Québec. Approches phénoménologiques, théologiques et pastorales [Nonbelief in Quebec. Phenomenological, Theological and Pastoral Approaches] (pp. 329–341). Fides.
Lefebure, L. D. (2015). Is There Reason for Hope? The Second Vatican Council and Catholic Interreligious Relations. In L. Van Rompay, S. Miglarese, & D. Morgan (Eds.), The Long Shadow of Vatican II. Living Faith and Negotiating Authority since the Second Vatican Council (pp. 8–36). University of North Carolina Press.
Lemieux, R., & Milot, M.. (Eds.) (1992). Les croyances des Québécois. Esquisses pour une approche empirique [Beliefs of Quebeckers. Sketches for an Empirical Approach]. Presses de l’Université Laval.
Nouveau Dialogue [New Dialog] (August 1975).
Paul VI. (1969). Address of Paul VI to the Participants in the Symposium on “The Culture of Unbelief”. Thursday, March 27. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from http://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1969/march/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19690327_cultura-non-credenza.html
Politi, M. (2015). Walking with Unbelievers. In P. Francis (Ed.), Among the Wolves. The Inside Story of a Revolution. Columbia University Press.
Pontifical Council for Culture, Dialogue with non-believers/Courtyard of the Gentiles. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from http://www.cultura.va/content/cultura/en/dipartimenti/ateismo-e-non-credenza.html. https://www.cortiledeigentili.com/.
Proulx, J.-P. (1973). Interview de trois croyants: L’Église veut nous inviter à dialoguer: nous dialoguons déjà [Interview with Three Believers: The Church Wants to Invite Us to Dialog: We Already Dialogue]. In J. Richard, P.-É. Langevin, & E. TrÉpanier (Eds.), L’incroyance au Québec. Approches phénoménologiques, théologiques et pastorales [Nonbelief in Quebec. Phenomenological, Theological and Pastoral Approaches] (pp. 305–310). Fides.
Ravasi, G. (2012). Le Parvis des gentils [The Courtyard of the Gentiles]. Revue d’éthique et de théologie morale, 268 (1), 113–119. Retrieved May 14, 2020, from http://www.cultura.va/content/cultura/en/dipartimenti/ateismo-e-non-credenza/che-cos-e-il-cortile-dei-gentili%2D%2D.html
Richard, J., Langevin, P.-É., & TrÉpanier, E. (1973). L’incroyance au Québec. Approches phénoménologiques, théologiques et pastorales [Nonbelief in Quebec. Phenomenological, Theological and Pastoral Approaches]. Fides.
Rocher, G. (1973). L’incroyance comme phénomène sociologique [Nonbelief as a Sociological Phenomenon]. In J. Richard, P.-É. Langevin, &, E. TrÉpanier (Eds.), L’incroyance au Québec. Approches phénoménologiques, théologiques et pastorales [Nonbelief in Quebec. Phenomenological, Theological and Pastoral Approaches] (pp. 13–30). Fides.
Statistics Canada. (2001). Content of the 2001 Census Questionnaires, May 1. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/Info/content.cfm.
Statistics Canada. (2013). Religion Reference Guide. National Household Survey 2011. Minister of Industry. Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011010, p. 4.
Thiessen, J., & Wilkins-Laflamme, S. (2020). None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the U.S. and Canada. New York University Press.
Tillich, P. 2001 (19571). Dynamics of Faith. HarperCollins.
Vatican II. (1965). Pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world. Gaudium et spes, Promulgated by Pope Paul VI, December 7. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html.
Welte, B. (1982). Qu’est-ce que croire ? [What is Faith]. Fides.
Acknowledgments
Solange Lefebvre would like to thank André Charron for facilitating access to documents and clarifying a few questions. In regard to the preparation of this article, the author would like to acknowledge the support of her research through her Research Chair in the Management of Cultural and Religious Diversity. She thanks Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme who kindly discussed matters of Canadian statistics.
She is grateful to Liane Grant for her editorial assistance and linguistic revisions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lefebvre, S. (2021). How New Is the Study of Nonreligion? Theological Contributions to the Emergent Reflection on Nonreligion in Social Sciences. In: Beaman, L.G., Stacey, T. (eds) Nonreligious Imaginaries of World Repairing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72881-6_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72881-6_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-72880-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-72881-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)