A Secular Age

Chapter 9 continues the exploration of the evolution of belief and unbelief in modernity, focusing on the shifts in how humans perceive the universe and their place within it. It begins by discussing the 19th century’s rise in unbelief, which was not merely a continuation of 18th-century trends but a more entrenched development in people’s worldview. This period saw the creation of new niches for unbelief and a shift from a cosmos, seen as a finite, ordered, and meaningful whole, to a vast, evolving universe that feels infinite and unfathomable.

The “cosmic imaginary” is the shared, often unconscious, ways people imagine the universe and their place in it. This imaginary shapes an understanding of physical reality and moral and aesthetic sensibilities. Over the last few centuries, there has been a significant transformation from an enchanted world filled with spirits and divine order to a disenchanted one where the universe is vast, indifferent, and constantly evolving. This shift has affected how people experience time, nature, and their sense of purpose in life.

One of the key changes at this time is the movement from a “cosmos” to a “universe.” In the old cosmos, the world was seen as limited and ordered, with everything having its place within a grand, divine plan. This cosmos was also intertwined with a Biblical narrative that provided a clear beginning and end to time, offering a sense of security and meaning. However, with the rise of modern science and the acceptance of theories like evolution, this cosmos was replaced by the concept of a vast, evolving universe with no apparent end or purpose. This new universe is larger in scale and much different in its implications for human life and meaning. The shift from a finite cosmos to an infinite universe has led to a new understanding of time, where the past, he claims, is seen as an “abyss”—a dark, unfathomable expanse that is difficult to comprehend and impossible to know fully.

Chapter 9 also discusses how this new cosmic imaginary has affected how people relate to nature. In the old cosmos, nature reflected divine order, with its beauty and harmony pointing to a higher reality. However, nature is usually indifferent, even hostile, to human concerns in the modern universe. This has led to the rise of the “sublime,” a concept that describes the simultaneous awe and terror people feel when confronted with the vastness and power of nature. The sublime reflects an ambivalence in modern attitudes toward nature—on the one hand, it inspires a sense of awe and a desire to connect with something greater than oneself; on the other hand, it also evokes fear and a sense of human insignificance.

This new cosmic imaginary challenges the anthropocentric view of the world that dominated earlier periods. The modern sense of the universe as vast and indifferent undermines the idea that the world was created for human beings and their well-being. Instead, it suggests that humans are just one small part of a much larger, impersonal process of evolution. This has led to a growing sense of kinship with all living things and a heightened awareness of the fragility and contingency of human existence.

Such changes in the cosmic imaginary have influenced religious belief. With its clear divine order, the old cosmos made believing in a benevolent God who created the world for a purpose easier. But in the modern universe, where the sense of order and purpose is less clear, faith becomes more fragile and difficult to sustain. This has led to new forms of spirituality that seek to reconnect with the sense of mystery and transcendence that the old cosmos provided but in ways often less tied to traditional religious doctrines.

Chapter 10 explores how the shift in artistic and cultural perspectives from the Romantic period contributed to modern unbelief’s rise and solidification. The chapter seeks to articulate how the Romantic era marked a transition in understanding art from mere imitation (mimesis) to a creative, self-expressive force. This shift was due to the decline of shared public symbols and meanings that previously underpinned art, poetry, and other cultural expressions.

In the past, artistic languages could rely on a standard set of references widely understood and accepted, such as religious and historical symbols. However, as these references lost public acceptance, artists and poets were forced to develop new, subtler languages to express their visions. This process involved creating art that no longer drew on established meanings but articulated new, personal, and often ambiguous meanings that resonated with the artists’ sensibilities.

This chapter emphasizes the role of art in shaping and reflecting the growing secularism and materialism of the modern age. As traditional religious and metaphysical beliefs faded, art became an essential medium through which people could explore and express deep, often ineffable, truths. This new art form was characterized by its “absolute” nature—unhooked from specific religious or metaphysical content—and allowed for a space where modern unbelief could flourish. Music, poetry, and painting became arenas where individuals could explore the mysterious and the profound without reference to specific religious or ontological commitments.

The chapter also contends the emergence of a “middle space” in modern culture—neither thoroughly religious nor entirely secular—where people could experience a form of spirituality through art, music, and nature without necessarily adhering to traditional religious beliefs. This space reflects the modern buffered self, which is caught between the pull of belief and unbelief and often finds solace in the aesthetic rather than the sacred.

The development of scientific thought, particularly in the wake of Darwin’s theory of evolution, contributed to the solidification of materialism and unbelief in the 19th century. The new cosmic imaginary—an understanding of the universe as vast, indifferent, and governed by impersonal laws—further reinforced the sense that meaning and order were human constructs rather than divine gifts.

The chapter concludes by noting the complexity and variety of modern unbelief, which has deepened and diversified since the 19th century. This development has led to a situation where, for many, unbelief is not merely an absence of faith but a fully developed worldview with its own meaning and significance. This modern unbelief represents a significant shift in human consciousness, comparable to the earlier enchanted world of 1500.

Chapter 11 discusses how the alternatives to traditional Christian belief multiplied and diversified during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, setting the stage for the “super-nova” following World War II. Particular focus is given to England from 1840 to 1940 and France around the turn of the 20th century. This mirrors the skepticism among intellectual and social elites that took hold by the 1830s, which was a response to the early 19th-century resurgence of Christian belief, driven by Evangelicals.

One of the central figures in this development is Thomas Carlyle, who reacted against traditional Christianity’s personal God, miracles, and divine judgment, advocating instead for a cosmic vision of an impersonal order. Carlyle’s ideas influenced other prominent figures, such as Matthew Arnold and George Eliot, who sought to redefine faith in ways that could align with the emerging modern worldview, which increasingly emphasized impersonal order and scientific rationality.

The conventional narrative primarily attributes the Victorian loss of faith to Darwinian evolution. However, the decline of traditional belief was already well underway, driven by a broader cultural shift toward impersonal order and the loss of resonance in the modern world. Darwin’s theory added momentum to this trend but did not initiate it.

Arnold, for example, struggled with the loss of faith but recognized the necessity of preserving some moral and cultural values from Christianity. He proposed that culture could fill the void left by religion, advocating for “culture” as a pursuit of perfection and human growth. However, this solution remained unsatisfactory for many, leading to a pervasive sense of loss and division.

The chapter also examines Robert Elsmere, a novel by Mrs. Humphry Ward that became a bestseller due to its portrayal of the inner conflict caused by a loss of faith. The novel’s protagonist transitions from orthodox Christianity to a belief in a purely human Christ, reflecting the broader societal shift toward secularism and humanism.

This period saw the rise of various compromises between Christianity and materialism, which sought to retain some aspects of Christian morality without the traditional supernatural beliefs. These compromises, however, often lacked staying power, as seen in the eventual decline of movements like Positivism, which attempted to replace Christianity with a “Religion of Humanity” (389).

The chapter concludes by noting that while the modern sense of impersonal order and the rise of secularism have become dominant, the cross-pressures between belief and unbelief have not disappeared. The dissatisfactions that drove the 19th-century critiques of modernity, such as the sense of emptiness and fragmentation, continue to resonate, suggesting that the quest for meaning and order remains unresolved in contemporary culture.