After the horrific attacks of September 11, a contingent of four atheists charged into the public eye, calling for a New Atheism and the rise of a disillusioned generation. The acclaimed Four Horsemen—an appropriately ironic moniker—sought to delegitimize religion and its adherents until the truth became clear: religion is a parasite that plagues the human race.
The end of faith never arrived, and revitalized religious communities are elbowing their way into the global public square. In Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World, Miroslav Volf conveys a vision of global human flourishing made possible through the mutual relationship between world religions and globalization. Religious communities are rediscovering their voice, and Volf argues the interconnected world is the perfect platform for the world religions to reclaim their original messages of universality and human flourishing.
Volf, the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale University, has been praised as “one of the preeminent theological voices of our time,” a necessary accolade for someone taking on a project of this scope. Speaking from his own Christian worldview, he argues each world religion (namely Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) can jointly contribute to “the common good,” while remaining true to their particular visions of human flourishing (70).
Source: An Incomplete Vision: Review of Volf’s Flourishing – Providence