“Thirty years ago, the secularisation thesis taught us that religion was heading toward museum piece status in the West. That thesis has not aged well, Dr Anna Rowlands has said, adding “religion is far from a museum piece and continues to exist, in evolving forms, as a complex, multi-layered and dynamic reality in our current world. It is far more interesting a picture than the secularisation thesis would have led us to imagine.”
Dr Anna Rowlands was speaking in Maynooth this week as she delivered the Trocaire Lent Lecture 2025.
She told those gathered; “Not only is the political significance of religion rising, but new forms of religious and post-religious practice are emerging in both the global North and South.”
She added: “Religious communities also remain among the major humanitarian providers globally, ‘localising’ aid and integral development more effectively than many secular agencies. Furthermore, religious belief and practice continue to provide grounds for meaning-making, resistance and resilience to many with limited economic or political resources.”
Dr Rowlands, a Vatican advisor and thelogian said that looking at religion in 2025, it is true to say that it has defied secular theorists.
“Many of us have also been raised on some version of the philosophy of liberalism that told us virtue language, especially the Christian language of faith, hope, and love, was a legitimate matter of private belief but had no place in a neutral, secular public space. The acquired virtues, including justice and prudence, remained relevant yet became more harmonious when separated from their connection to the infused theological virtues. And politicians traded in a language of secularised hope that was closer to that of simple optimism. That form of political hope has not stood up well, and has been replaced by a politics of anger and resentment. And so, here we stand in early 2025 in a moment when religion has defied secularisation theorists, politics has defied the philosophers of liberalism, and the virtue language of faith, hope, and love is resurgent, although as contested and irascible as ever.”
She said it is significant that the resurgence in political claims of faith across the political arena occurs at a time of huge hunger for hope and reports of people struggling with social hopelessness.
“The hunger for hope and the absence of hope are critical indicators of our moment’s health. As a small illustration, social science researchers have convincingly charted that having some sense of hope for the future correlates with engagement in civil society, voting, and nurturing health and friendships. Correspondingly, those who are vulnerable to feelings of social despair are much more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracy theories. Hope and trust are deeply related. Hope is connected to social trust, participation in all aspects of social life, and a sense of connection to near and distant neighbours.”
“For all of these reasons, Pope Francis’ choice to dedicate this Jubilee year to the theological virtue of hope is especially timely – pastorally, spiritually, and politically.”