The Secret Despair of the Secular Left: Our Fraying Connections with Our Communities, Our Bodies, and the Earth

In this ardent and rigorous manifesto, minister Levy-Lyons (No Other God) explores the ill effects of faith’s decline. According to the author, the 20th century saw the rise of a progressivist culture whose capitalist ethos has transformed religion from an intrinsic part of daily life into a commodified “object, separate from oneself, that can be chosen or unchosen.” Such a shift unlinks matter from spirit, she argues, setting in motion three chief disconnects: from one’s body (which transforms from a sacred vessel into a machine designed to achieve one’s ambitions), from the earth (which becomes a utilizable resource rather than God’s creation), and from other people. Meanwhile, secular values like meritocracy and self-fulfillment try to fill the gap but lack the spiritual depth to help people “fully receive the sacred gifts of life.” Despite a sometimes caustic tone and a few less convincing examples (at one point, she suggests a rise in mastectomies and even formula feeding are symptoms of the “deep-seated spiritual grief” of being severed from “our animal selves”), Levy-Lyons makes a persuasive case that an important aspect of human life gets lost when secular culture makes the notion of “surrender[ing] to something larger than ourselves” superfluous. It’s a probing critique. (June)