INTELLECTUALS VS. 'THE MYSTIC'

Nicholas D. Kristof is terribly, terribly troubled. It seems an increasing number of people are actually taking their professed religion seriously. He takes the occasion of the Catholic Feast of Assumption (which I don't take seriously) to fret about this increasingly troubling trend:

The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time. The percentage of Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth actually rose five points in the latest poll.

My grandfather was fairly typical of his generation: A devout and active Presbyterian elder, he nonetheless believed firmly in evolution and regarded the Virgin Birth as a pious legend. Those kinds of mainline Christians are vanishing, replaced by evangelicals. Since 1960, the number of Pentecostalists has increased fourfold, while the number of Episcopalians has dropped almost in half.

The result is a gulf not only between America and the rest of the industrialized world, but a growing split at home as well. One of the most poisonous divides is the one between intellectual and religious America.

Ah, ol' grandpa. He was great at being "devout", which seems to be defined as going through the motions in a mainline denomination without really believing all those "pious legends". He probably walked uphill both ways through the snow to church every Sunday so he could mentally chuckle at all those Bible readings.

So Kristof assures us that "intellectuals" like grandpa and Hans Kung never took that virgin birth stuff seriously. They were religious, just ask them. But despite the fact that you can consult religious intellectuals like grandpa and Hans Kung to learn the truth about things like the virgin birth, folks don't seem to be availing themselves of this font of trustworthy information:

Yet despite the lack of scientific or historical evidence, and despite the doubts of Biblical scholars, America is so pious that not only do 91 percent of Christians say they believe in the Virgin Birth, but so do an astonishing 47 percent of U.S. non-Christians.

And even though Kristof compares these wackos who believe in the virgin birth with fundamentalist Muslims, just remember:

I'm not denigrating anyone's beliefs.

Oh, I never would have thought you were.