The Secular Paradox: On the Religiosity of the Not Religious

Abstract

canyon and monastery in 2014. The QR code at the end of the chapter allows the reader to sample the author’s trip, including sounds of chanting by Greek Orthodox monks. Next to the QR code is a written summary of what the reader can expect and should listen for in the audio file. Thus, the summary does double duty. It functions as a listening prompt – and provides some accessibility for readers who may be deaf. On the one hand, there is much to appreciate here. The book is methodologically sophisticated without being jargon-heavy. Indeed, it is written in an approachable style and format (endnotes are minimal), as a trade book. Furthermore, it complements and even challenges early Christian studies’ longstanding pre-occupation with visual and tactile data, namely texts and material culture; this academic contribution of the book could be adapted and transferred to other specializations within the broader discipline of religious studies. And the author’s work should have relevance for most anyone, most anywhere, not only the American city-dwelling audience that she seems to address, although the job of comparison with monastic movements from other religions besides Christianity is left up to the reader, except for a nod or two in the direction of Buddhism. At the same time, critiques could be made. Deep listening is not necessarily the most important aspect of early Christian monasticism available for use in defense of the environment: ancient ascetic minimalism versus modern materialism and consumerism comes to mind. But that would be to fault the book for missing a secondary target. The author has set out to write on desert silence and sound, first and foremost; her aim was not to pen a Christian manifesto for protecting the planet, per se. So, more germane issues might include how far the limits of comparison can be stretched across time and space, and the question of whether religious experience, in this case aural, can be extracted and studied from literature. Haines-Eitzen is hardly unaware of these issues, and such are the risks that accompany any project as bold as hers.