Szabó Árpád (szerk.): Isten és ember szolgálatában. Erdő János emlékezete (Kolozsvár, 2007)

Paul Rasor: Postmodernity, Globalization, and the Challenge of Identity in Liberal Theology

related to associations (including churches), political parties, nation states, or local communities.”5

5 Lyon, 38.

6 Ibid. 39.

Another factor is the rapid rise of multiculturalism, stimulated by global technology and by increased global migration. Multiculturalism has reshaped the identities of thousands of communities and millions of people. On the streets of cities in all parts of the world, we can hear a dozen languages poken, sample food from many different cultures, and attend concerts featuring music from all over the world. In a single extended family, we often find people born in different countries, holding different citizenship, speaking different primary languages, and perhaps having different religious affiliations. Children with very different cultural roots form easy friendships; young adults increasingly marry across old ethic, racial and religious barriers; elders see cherished traditions crumbling before their eyes.

I had a friend at Harvard who is a perfect example of what some scholars call identity pluralism. His parents had given him a traditional Hindu name, yet they were a Christian family who, during his childhood, moved from India to Sri Lanka, a Buddhist country. He was completely fluent in Hindi, Tamil and English, and perfectly at home in Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian religious contexts. While he was at Harvard, he became engaged to a woman from the American Midwest. How does he identify himself? How will his children? Some of us might say he is a good candidate for Unitarian Universalism, but as far as I know he never made that choice.

The disorienting effects of globalization have affected religious traditions in many ways. Some religious groups have sought to protect themselves from these realities by retreating into a form of tribalism. In this context, identity formation is fairly easy. In contrast, religious liberals have generally embraced the interconnectedness made possible by globalization. The irony is that the more our sense of connectedness spreads, the more we may feel the need for a particular identity. As Lyon notes, „In the desire to find a sense of direction and purpose in a world of anonymously flowing power, identity construction becomes a central preoccupation."6

Impact on Liberal Theology

Let me now try to connect these realities more specifically with liberal theology, and offer some reflections on the task we face for the future. First, just to state the obvious, one of the hallmarks of liberal theology has been its ability to respond to the emerging cultural situation in any given period.

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