The very thoughtful nature of your reply makes me want to tread especially lightly here.
A couple of bits of background:
- I'm not in any way connected with any organized religion. I have too much respect for Christianity to call myself a Christian, since I know I don't meet the criteria;
- My eldest sister was born in 1946; I am inclined to use her as my archetype for the generation as a whole, which leads me wide open to all the failings of generalization.
The boomers were the first generation to receive the benefits of post-secondary education being widely available throughout our society.
True. There was a flood of new students into the universities in the mid-60s. Were the universities equipped to handle that flood? Did those students come out with anything that resembled the education that might have been obtained in the 1930s? My sister is a professional; I find her depth of thought to be abysmal, as is the fact that she glories in having passed with a 'C' average after having spent 4 years in the bar. Now it's hardly fair to generalize from that to the whole generation, of course. But it is a fair question to ask about the quality of the post-secondary education they received. Why was a bachelor's degree once a big deal, when now it takes a good master's to be the equivalent?
... it is quite possible to have a congregation whose members have taken their studies much further than the person in the pulpit offering them guidance and leadership.
True, although I wonder how common. I am well acquainted with an Anglican priest who is both highly lettered, and who has spent years thinking, pondering, and searching for the deepest meanings in his faith. I believe he has yet to encounter much by the way of what you describe -- although he lives for it. He would dearly love to meet such a congregation, because it would help him to learn. I suppose my point is that, for the majority, there isn't much depth to their thinking. Isn't that what many of us have been bewailing on this thread about the election?
It is quite reasonable for educated people to question the wisdom of delivering their allegiance blindly. The answers to those questions provide an explanation for the
reduction in esteem certain groups in our society have enjoyed over the centuries. I see this trend continuing.
Fortunately, today, people who think freely are no longer burnt at the stake or face inquisitions.
Of course. I don't advocate parking your brain at the door under any circumstances -- not with ethics, nor religion, and certainly not politics. I was ascribing a baser motive in my generalization -- not of blind allegiance, but of willful blindness. Not of freethinking, but of not thinking.
Your point is well made. To the extent I would quibble, it would be on how generally applicable it is to society. Yes, there have been tremendous new opportunities through the availability of education. OTOH, some of those opportunities were wasted, in part by the dumbing down of the universities, and in part by the onslaught for which they were unprepared, and for which funding has generally lagged.
JMO, and not a hill I'm prepared to die on. Just enjoying the discussion. |
