"Harrison is no nostalgic reactionary. He acknowledges modernity’s gifts. But he warns against monochrome narratives of progress. One of his most provocative claims is that science, too, relies on “ implicita.” …As a scholar of new religious movements, I find Harrison’s thesis electrifying. He doesn’t mention my field, but I’ll extend his argument: many new religions are a renaissance of “fides implicita.” Converts don’t join because they’ve dissected theological treatises (although some may read them later). They join because they trust a guru, a prophet, a community. Just like early Christians and Muslims. The intellectual scaffolding may come later—or not at all. So, is “fides implicita” obsolete? Has secular science vanquished religion? Harrison—and I—say: not so fast. Belief, in its ancient form as trust, is alive and well. It’s just wearing new clothes."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Massimo Introvigne, "Peter Harrison’s “Some New World”: Faith, Reason, and the Afterlife of Belief", Bitter Winter (October 28, 2025)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Harrison_(historian)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Massimo Introvigne
58 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Massimo Introvigne →
Related Quotes
"… Hassan promotes the BITE model as a scientific method for identifying “destructive cults,” claiming it can distingu…"
"Chinese-American political scientist Pei Minxin’s “The Broken China Dream: How Reform Revived Totalitarianism” (Princ…"
"Kang’s vision was rooted in a radical reinterpretation of Confucianism. He saw Confucius not as a conservative sage b…"
"Jao’s work assumes a deep understanding of Chinese history, literature, and archaeology that few have. But the reward…"
"There are similarities, as well as obvious differences, in the epic of the Mormon Battalion and the epic of Tai Ji Me…"
"The Party has accepted that it cannot eliminate Feng Shui; instead, it has placed itself as the ultimate authority on…"
"[In the land Mongols prefer to call Southern Mongolia,] Mongolians have demonstrated “remarkable creativity and resil…"
"The trial of the Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame (FMND), which concluded its hearings in Privas on January 22 and …"
"In an interview of January 20 that “Bitter Winter” readers will recognize as both bold and overdue, Sergei Chapnin de…"
"Well-known among scholars is Ong’s call to reflect on how deep the transformations of societies transitioning from or…"