Andrew Root, a theology professor, discusses the impact of social acceleration on modern life, particularly in religious contexts. He explores how the relentless pace of productivity leads to feelings of depression and discombobulation. Root delves into the shift in time perception, revealing how the pursuit of optionality can drown out genuine fulfillment. He highlights the challenge of navigating faith in a secular age, advocating for finding resonance and meaningful connections over mere speed and choices.
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Secular Age Beliefs
In a secular age, belief becomes contested and fragilized, according to Charles Taylor.
People are aware of various belief systems, making their own beliefs feel less absolute.
insights INSIGHT
Cross-Pressures of Modern Life
Modern society offers a buffet of options for the good life, creating cross-pressures.
Individuals must constantly evaluate different paths, leading to discombobulation.
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Social Acceleration
Hartmut Rosa posits that modern society is characterized by social acceleration.
We strive for a faster life, valuing optionality, speed, and reach.
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The Weariness Of The Self Diagnosing The History Of Depression In The Contemporary Age
Alain Ehrenberg
In *The Weariness of the Self*, Alain Ehrenberg examines the evolution of depression across twentieth-century psychiatry, highlighting how it reflects broader societal changes. He argues that depression is not merely a disease but a symptom of modern individualism, where feelings of inadequacy replace traditional guilt and conflict as primary drivers. Ehrenberg's work offers a sociological perspective on depression, situating it within the context of contemporary societal norms and expectations.
Resonance
A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World
Hartmut Rosa
In this book, Hartmut Rosa argues that the acceleration of modern life has not led to greater happiness or contentment. Instead, he proposes that the quality of human life should be measured by our 'resonance' with the world. Rosa applies his theory of resonance across various domains of human activity, including family, politics, work, sports, religion, and art. He contends that modern society's crises, such as environmental, democratic, and psychological crises, can be understood through the lens of resonance and our distorted relationship to the world. The book emphasizes the importance of forming meaningful, unpredictable, and uncontrollable connections with the world, highlighting the concept of alterity and the need to embrace the world's mystery and elusiveness[2][4][5].
A Secular Age
Charles Taylor
In 'A Secular Age', Charles Taylor explores the transformation of Western society from a pre-modern world where belief in God was inescapable to a modern secular age where believing in God is just one option among many. Taylor argues against the 'subtraction story' of secularization, which posits that religion has been removed from society. Instead, he describes a complex historical process involving the Reform movement in Christianity, the rise of disciplinary society, and the emergence of exclusive humanism. The book examines how these changes have affected the conditions of belief and unbelief, and how they have shaped modern social forms, moral orders, and spiritual experiences[1][3][4].
Congregation in a Secular Age
Andrew Root
In this book, Andrew Root addresses the challenges faced by congregations in the accelerated pace of modern life. He argues that the recent push for innovation in churches has led to an acceleration of congregational life, stripping the sacred out of time and resulting in burnout and depression. Root encourages congregations to reimagine change and move from relevance to resonance, emphasizing the importance of relationships with God and each other to restore sacredness to time.
The social theorist Charles Taylor says that part of what characterizes a secular age is that there are multiple competing options for what constitutes the good life.
The sociologist Hartmut Rosa argues that modern citizens most often locate that good in optionality, speed, and reach, which creates a phenomenon he calls “social acceleration.”
Professor of theology Andrew Root explores the ideas of Taylor, Rosa, and social acceleration in his work, including in his book The Congregation in a Secular Age. While Andy largely looks at social acceleration through the lens of its effect on churches, it has implications for every aspect of our lives, from work to family. We explore those implications today on the show, unpacking the way that seeking stability through growth leads to feelings of depression, exhaustion, and discombobulation, how we collect possibilities while not knowing what we’re aiming for, and how we’ve traded the burden of shoulds for the burden of coulds. We discuss how social acceleration has shifted the horizons and significance of time, how time has to be hollowed out to be sped up, and how the solution to the ill effects of social acceleration isn’t just slowing down, but finding more resonance.
The Art of Manliness 
