The Secular as Methodology

Secularization is a process that has been taking place throughout the world, but especially in the West. It refers to limitations of various types to religious thoughts, activities, ownership, and power, but does not necessarily mean limitation on religious freedom. Because of this contested double effect, secularization is perceived both negatively and positively. I propose that the secular be viewed primarily as a methodology in various areas of life, beginning most clearly with science, but extending to many other areas of thought and activity. When this is done I believe people then have the clear option to apply their faith to all of their thought and action and at the same time to allow for correction and improvement to their thought and action. These corrections and improvements will be debated, but in the end, for Christians, they are dependent on interpretations of the Bible. Furthermore, I believe the broad result for all people is to clarify the choice to believe in God or rather that we are chosen by God revealed in the Bible who is seeking to have fellowship with us.


""I have long valued Robert Montgomery as a scholar who refuses to be confined by conventional boundaries--be they academic, intellectual, or religious. Drawing on his rich heritage as a child of missionaries, his years of cross-cultural ministry, and academic study, Montgomery has been especially sensitive to the way cultural, linguistic, religious, and academic 'boxes' can distort and hinder our understanding of the Other. Montgomery has courageously stayed focused on the ways our knowledge and understanding can be enlarged and enriched by being open and paying respectful attention.""
--Wilbert Shenk, senior professor of mission history and contemporary culture, Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies


Robert L. Montgomery comes from missionary heritage and also served as a missionary in Taiwan for sixteen years. The aboriginal Christian movement there sent him back to study sociology of religion in order to understand their enthusiastic response to Jesus Christ compared to other populations. He has written articles and books on why religions spread using a social scientific perspective, but adding a section on implications for missions. Encountering the secular late in life produced the struggle represented in the book