Caputo's On Religion: A Review of Contemporary Faith

Religion as Love: Caputo's Opening Framework

Caputo's On Religion is a review of how religion is experienced in the contemporary world. It does not begin with a contemporary view, but rather with a depiction of what religion is, what has happened to religious belief, and how religion is communicated today, particularly in media. The first part discusses the idea of religion as love. This is important because the religious experience is much like that of the experience of lovers who are separated. For example, two lovers who are separated will write or send expressions of love to one another to keep the love alive. They will use their imagination and their energy to reflect and meditate on that love, and act on it in some form of communication.

The same is true in religion. God is the recipient of love from humanity, and humanity is the recipient of love from God — yet both are separated in some way, and so there is a distance to cross that makes the demonstration or act of love all the more meaningful. Once Caputo establishes this basic understanding of what religion is, he goes on to discuss what happened to religion in the modern world and why it tends to be viewed in such polarizing ways. On the one hand, religion is mocked and scorned; on the other hand, it is seen as the ultimate purpose of existence.

First, there was the sacral age, in which the sacred was esteemed and the mystery of God was valued in society. Religion was interwoven into the fabric of community life, and people worshipped as a whole. It was important that everyone believe in and share the same faith. The Age of Faith was the period in the West when Europe was known as Christendom.

Secularization, the Enlightenment, and the Death of God

Then came a change in society. The Reformation happened; people began fighting over what to believe; the unity of faith was shattered; and secularists began finding ways to maintain social cohesion without religion. Religion itself became anathema — seen as the problem rather than as a binding force. Too many people were fighting over religious issues, and so leaders concluded that keeping government focused on secular politics would prevent further wars. The Enlightenment and the Romantic Age emerged from this move toward secularization.

Nietzsche declared that God was dead and that there was no need for anyone to engage in religious belief, which in his view got in the way of self-determination. Nietzsche believed the Christian and Jewish faiths were slave faiths that made men want to be humble and lowly, when men ought instead to be proud and mighty. Caputo also discusses Kierkegaard, who decided that God was really an either/or question: God either existed and that meant everything, or He did not exist and nothing of any real importance mattered. This framing made the question of religion into something supreme, suggesting that life should either return to the way it was, if God were true, or proceed in its current "progressive" course, if God were not.

Caputo then discusses desecularization — the turn away from the secular back toward religious ideas and expressions. This can be seen in the rise of evangelicalism and other modes of popular religious expression. This part of the book acts as a foreshadowing of what Caputo will discuss later when he turns to the topic of religion and Star Wars.

Desecularization and Religion in Popular Culture

Star Wars is a science-fiction film — essentially a story of space cowboys, heroes, aliens, and villains representing true evil. Caputo's point is that even in Star Wars, particularly in The Phantom Menace, there is a special emphasis on elements drawn from the Christian tradition, such as the virgin birth and the idea of a chosen one. The allegory in Star Wars is somewhat loose and sentimental, but Caputo's argument is not necessarily that the allegory is artistically impactful. Rather, the mere fact that it appears in a popular film at all signifies that there is still a need for religion in the modern world. People still respond to the claims of religion; it has not disappeared altogether.

This is why Caputo discusses at length the idea of "the force." The phrase "the force is with you" resonates because it speaks to a person's innate spiritual sense. The force in the film is a spiritual force — not something derived from technology or even knowledge and books, but something that is sensed and felt. One uses the force for good or for ill, much like taking the great gift of free will and doing significant things with it. Darth Vader represents what happens when the force is used for evil; Luke Skywalker represents what happens when it is used for good.

The same ideas prevail in religion, and this is one of the most important points in the book. Religion is about using free will to work with God's grace for good, or to oppose that grace and work toward some destructive purpose. When people work with God's grace they can become virtuous; when they work against it they become, in a sense, like devils. This is a foundational concept in religion, and Caputo finds it throughout Star Wars.

Caputo also discusses the film The Apostle, starring Robert Duvall, about a Pentecostal preacher who kills his wife's lover and flees the state. He starts a new life elsewhere, but his past eventually catches up with him. Rather than hiding further, he continues preaching even after his arrest and assignment to a chain gang. What the film shows is that people can pursue holiness even while remaining fallen and prey to sin.