Dr. Robert L. Montgomery
The Spread of Religions: A Social Scientific Theory Based on the Spread of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam
By Robert L. Montgomery, Rmontgo914@aol.com, www.sompsite.com.
This book breaks new ground in setting forth the reasons why these
religions have spread. It also predicts the future course in the spread
of religions based on the nature of these religions and changing world
conditions.
Summary of the Book
The major part of this book, including the Introduction and nine chapters, is intended to be social scientific in approach. This means that it should be available for examination and debate by people of all faiths and no faith. The social sciences deal with everything that can be expressed in human life. The social sciences cannot consider or state how religion and faith may be based in God and the supernatural or how God works in the world. However, the social sciences can look at how faith and religion are expressed and lived in its human aspects. The social sciences not only cannot make statements about God, they cannot make philosophical statements or simply statements of opinion. They can examine what people say they believe and think and the relationship religion and opinion has to human behavior. This means there is a kind of wall between the social sciences (also the natural sciences) and theology and ordinary human thought, which is full of opinion. Even though social scientific theory must avoid all theological thought and human opinions in its theorizing, theological thought and human opinion should try to incorporate social scientific theory. This requires a continuing struggle because all scientific theory is constantly being changed and elaborated.
The book is based on the fact that three of the world religions have spread more widely than any of the other religions. These religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The book sets forth seven categories or types of causes (Chapters 1 – 7) for why these three religions spread. The first three causes belong to the characteristics of the religions themselves. The last four causes are social factors that are external to the religions that affect their spread. Two of these are on the societal or large-scale (macro) level and two are on the individual or small-scale (micro) level.
The three religious causes have to do with (1) beliefs, (2) morality, and (3) organization. The four social causes have to do with (4) the internal conditions of receiving societies, (5) the relationships between societies, (6) the relationships between individuals, and (7) the motives of individuals. After discussing each of these causes in Chapters 1 through 7, the book considers the spread of irreligion as this took place first in Western Europe and then to the rest of the world (Chapter 8). Finally, the last chapter considers the future spread of religions based on the theory of the book and changes taking place in the world. An Appendix is added with a specifically Christian perspective that seeks to incorporate and apply the social scientific analysis of the book.
There are a number of important findings of the book. In the content of religions (Chapters 1-3), one of the most surprising findings is that even though the three spreading religions are very different, they are similar in that each one offers a human being through whom people can make contact with God and obtain salvation. Furthermore, they each offer compassion and salvation to all people, and they have organized effectively to carry their message to all people.
Under social causes (Chapters 4-7), people need to have the opportunity to make religious choices. Also, it is important that they do not feel threatened by outside forces associated with a new religion. Finally, religions spread through social networks and also when individuals see a benefit to believing. This benefit is not basically material, but is found in the satisfaction of the heart.
Looking to the future, with increasing freedom to make religious choices and with increasing individualism, there will be increasing emphasis on the content of religion. What does each religion teach, believe, and practice? More and more people will ask, “What do the various religions believe?†and “What do particular religions offer to me?â€
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There will be a "Meet the Author" discussion and overview of the book on Tuesday, April 10, at the Ridgewood Public Library.
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