Study Materials

Christian Nominalism: Causes and Cures
Dr. Tite Tiénou

Introduction

Nominalism is a widespread religious phenomenon today. It affects most of the known religions of the world and is present in virtually all countries.  Nominalism is growing in all families of the Christian faith, including Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. In light of this, the present study has a three-fold purpose.  It will first examine the causes of nominalism. Secondly, it will highlight some of the problems affecting church life as a result of nominalism.  Thirdly, it will propose possible cures and solutions to nominalism within Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. Before we proceed, however, we need to agree on a basic definition of nominalism.

Nominalism: A Definition

Nominalism occurs when people identify themselves with a cause without clear understanding of it or serious commitment to it. In that case, such people are affiliated with that cause in nameonly. In regards to the Christian Faith, nominalists are those who adhere to the external forms of piety and godliness while denying its power (II Timothy 3:15). In this study, then nominalism refers to Christians whose Christianity does not go beyond mere identification with a church or a Christian body. Such Christians may participate in many Christian functions of their choosing but they want a religion which is not too demanding.

Causes of Nominalism

We all can, I am sure, point to such nominal Christians in our own churches, our circle of acquaintances and even our family. What causes these people to be content with only part of the Christian faith?

One can find numerous causes explaining the drift from authentic faith to nominal Christianity.  For our purposes, however, I have limited the causes of nominalism to five: institutionalization, Christianity of habit, negative ethics, legalism and confession without conversion.

Perhaps institutionalization represents the one cause of nominalism which most of us can readily identify. Institutionalization refers to the process by which an informal movement becomes an established body. In the established body newness is transformed into routine, creeds and codes. When this happens, allegiance to the body is measured by conformity to recognized (and often external) factors rather than vitality of life and faith.  Institutionalization normally occurs during the second or third generation after a movement begins. As you can see, most of our Alliance national church bodies have entered or are about to enter the period of institutionalization.  This should warn us that we are ripe for nominalism if it does not yet exist in our midst.

The second factor which leads to nominalism, namely a Christianity of habit, is closely linked to institutionalization. Here people declare themselves Christian because it has now become the custom or the tradition. We have a label for this phenomenon when it takes place in religions such as Islam. We call it folkIslam. Well, many people born into the households of our churches are folkChristians, that is, they are Christians only because this is their tradition. As A. W.Tozer observed so long ago, "The power of custom, precedent and tradition... [means that] not Christ but tradition is lord in this situation" (The Waning Authority of Christ In the Churches The Alliance Witness, May 15, 1963). In itself tradition can be helpful.  But when it becomes the sole dimension of faith, then the process of slow death begins.

Negative ethics is the third cause of nominalism. This kind of code of ethics usually takes the form of what a Christian is not allowed to do.  For instance, in many countries of West Africa, in evangelical Protestant circles, it is generally understood that a Christian does not drink alcoholic beverages, smoke, chew kola nut or go to the cinema.  Do not misunderstood me. I am not suggesting that these are good activities for Christians to engage in.  Rather I want to underscore the fact that this list does not inform people, in a positive manner, of what a Christian does.

The perverse effect of this negative ethics is that even when people do engage in these prohibited activities, they are still recognized as believers, albeit not serious believers (in Jula a te danaba sebe ye). This, in itself, is a concession to nominalism.

Fourthly, the closely related negative ethics, is legalism. As a cause of nominalism, legalism is essentially an attempt to regulate social and religious conduct by setting up objective standards to be obeyed by everybody. It seems to indicate a belief that people can be transformed inward by working on their outward behaviour first.  Consequently many people will attempt to conform to the outward expectations without having the inner transformation wrought by the Spirit and the Word. Ultimately, negative ethics and legalism may be good devices of social control but they are not adequate measurements of spiritual vitality.

Perhaps the fifth cause of nominalism can summarize the preceding four examined thus far. We may state the fifth cause of nominalism as "a learned confession without an experienced conversion,... substituting good deeds for conversion" (Kasdorf 1980:153). Another way of putting it is that people are often socialized into the Christian faith without having had a spiritual transformation.  When that happens, particularly in newly evangelized places, people may have practices which are Christian in form but "pagan" in meaning. In that case we have an unhealthy contextualization.

Nominalism and Problems of Church Life

It is not enough,  however, to recognize that nominalism exists and to ascertain its causes. One must also examine the implications for Church life both in terms of problems and cures. That is the reason why we now turn our attention to the problems of church life which result from nominalism.

First, nominalism creates an illusion of growth.  If, as the case is everywhere today, one is highly interested in statistical increases in church membership, nominalism will be difficult to detect. After all, church services are well attended and many people can even join the churches regularly.  But does this quantitative growth translate itself into qualitative discipleship? That is the question.

I am not suggesting here that we should abandon all efforts at numerical increases.  Rather, my plea is that as we bring people into contact with Christ and His Church, we should not neglect to "teach them all that He commanded". For without this kind of dual focus we are likely to have growth without maturity.

Secondly, nominalism encourages the establishment and perpetuation of a religion of spectators.   It also breeds clericalism. Without the necessary maturity in faith Christians, like other religious people, tend to become mere spectators and not active participants. Content with just watching, such Christians want religious things done to them and for them in exchange for a minimum of personal discomfort. That is why nominalism is a minimalist approach to religion. And a minimalist religion can only succeed where and when clergy are totally in charge while lay people passively follow instructions.  Let us note, in passing, that clericalism is a dangerous trend observable in many of our churches for various reasons.

Thirdly, and in conjunction with the preceding, nominalism dissipates Christians' convictions. When people only adhere to a religion because of tradition and convenience, they are easy targets for new ideas and religions. To be sure, one should be open-minded and ready to learn new things. Open- mindedness is, however, not the same thing as a lack of conviction. When a person's Christian faith and practice are not solidly grounded in conviction, that person has no basis to critically evaluate the many viewpoints presented by the religion to the exclusion of others if all religions are equally valid?"  You see, this question is directly related to lack of conviction. The lack of commitment wilt make it harder and harder to recruit Christians for the many varied ministries of our churches. I am referring to what we call lay ministries as well as full time Christian vocational ministries.

I realize that the foregoing four areas of problems created by nominalism may not be present in the same degree in alt our churches. But, if nominalism has even a beginning where we live and serve God, some aspects of the problems highlighted here will be present. For this reason we must look for ways of occurring nominalism.

Cures to Nominalism

Nominalism is not an incurable plague. In fact, its deadly effects can be reversed if proper measures are taken. Let us therefore examine four measures which, together, can be the beginning of a cure to nominalism in our churches. Individually, each measure can provide a specific solution to a given problem. The four measures are: conversion in the context of worldviews, mutual correction through global missionizing, renewed emphasis on teaching and discipleship and a deliberate practice of real Christianity where ethics grow out of inner transformation.

The quest for cures to nominalism must begin with a proper understanding of conversion. Often conversion is viewed as a change of religious affiliation. Sometime the gospel proclaimer looks for evidences of conversion which reflect his or her worldview. Since conversion is first and foremost a return to the living God, it means a radical change of allegiance. One's basic allegiances are determined by worldview assumptions. Most worldviews are attempts to order the world without making room for God's direct intervention. That is the case even when reference is made to a supreme Deity: such a supreme Being is actually a benevolent overseer or convenient hypothesis. Consequently most wortdviews tolerate or encourage idolatry. A person who is genuinely converted to God and His Christ must renounce all idolatry. That is why conversion without challenge to worldview assumptions quite often set in motion processes which lead to nominalism. For such a conversion does not seek to uproot idolatry. All of us who evangelize must make efforts at understanding the worldview assumptions of those we evangelize.  This will help us discern multiple allegiances when they occur. Such a discernment is critical for dealing with nominalism at the beginning stages. Sometimes nominalism results from syncretism or unhealthy and uncritical contextualization.  Uncritical contextualization is due, in part, to the lack of evaluation of worldview assumptions. Quite often outsiders are able to shed light on our blind spots.  In this regard, the Alliance World Fellowship is in strategic position to launch a process of global sharing and missionizing which can lead to mutual correction. For self-contained Christian communities suffer from various ailments, nominalism being one of them.

Teaching and discipling must be at the center of any attempt to cure nominalism. As important as Gospel proclamation is, it is not complete unless and until it includes teaching. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 does, of course, mention teaching in conjunction with preaching the good news. Teaching and discipling are important as cures to nominalism for another reason: their purpose is to make the Gospel message become "power of the Spirit" for daily living. If the Christian message is so internalized that it becomes part of one's daily life, nominalism will have little or no room for development.

In the context of today's world, teaching is about right beliefs as well as right actions. David J. Bosch notes that ideally every church member should be a true disciple (1991:82). Even if this ideal can never be achieved, teaching and discipling aim at increasing the number of true disciples in our churches. And true disciples should be in the habit of practicing real Christianity. Andrew F. Walls (1991:74) shows that in nineteenth century Britain, "evangelism was about 'real', as distinct from 'formal' Christianity. [It] involved a life of ongoing devotion and practical duty."  If we want to cure our churches of nominalism today, this is the kind of Christianity we need to adhere to and live by.

Conclusion

Religious leaders around the world are alarmed at the spread of nominalism. It is therefore timely for this topic to be discussed at this level in the Alliance family of churches. Our reaction, however, must be more than alarm and dismay. We must find a pastoral approach to nominalism. I have tried, in this study, to provide elements for such an approach.  May God grant us a burning passion to see our churches filled with real Christians, not just formal or nominal ones. May He help us translate this passion into action.