"... accused the bishop of telling the faithful how to practice their faith"

Charlotte Allen in der Los Angeles Times über Christianity Lite:

"When in January 2003 the bishop of Sacramento ordered former Gov. Gray Davis, a Catholic whose administration boasted of making California 'the most pro-choice state in America,' to change his views or stop receiving communion, a Davis spokesman accused the bishop of 'telling the faithful how to practice their faith.'

So, the consumer mentality rules in the world of Christianity Lite: The notion that no one has the right to tell anyone how to practice his or her faith, or indeed what that faith should consist of. Individual choice, not the tradition handed down by parents or grandparents, increasingly governs belief, practice and denominational affiliation.

There is an upside to that, however, as Wilcox points out. 'Many are moving out of their traditions, but when they land in a particular tradition, they take it much more seriously. They're better-educated, and they're more self-conscious about passing it on. Our society is becoming overall more secular, but there is in increase in the minority of Americans who take their faith seriously.'

That is the paradox of Christianity Lite. It can breed its own dissatisfactions, including a hunger to lose oneself religiously in something outside of and larger than oneself. That is why, by all reports, the Christian churches and communities that insist on going against the 'spirituality' zeitgeist and making genuine demands on their members are thriving."

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