NEWS

Dr. Harvey G Cox Jr., Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School (History of Christianity/Divinity) delivers a lecture

Update: May 17, 2016

On May 6 (Fri), Dr. Harvey G Cox Jr., Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School held a lecture titled "The Golden Calf and the Deified Market ──Theological Perspective on Global Consumer Capitalism──" on invitation by ICU Institute for the Study of Christianity and Culture (ICC).

Professor Cox pointed out that the market is being deified and even vested with a religious authority, sharing his insight into today's capitalist market from a theological perspective.

The lecture was followed by an active exchange of questions and answers in which participants including students and faculty members engaged in an in-depth dialogue with Professor Cox.

Below is a summary of the lecture given by Professor Cox

Market-based economy led to the development of a market-based society, which in turn has transitioned into a market-based culture and even a market-based religion central to our values. The market today can well be deemed as a religion with many of the properties that a religion should have, as it 1) teaches us how we should live our lives, 2) clearly indicates the meaning and purpose of life, and 3) has rituals for worshipping capitalism by incorporating such occasions as Christmas and Mother's Day as opportunities to invigorate economic activity, and 4) has core institutions such as banks and stock markets to serve as a shrine that organizes and facilitates the appropriate functioning of market activities.

As such, the market is supposed to know best what is best for us and what we truly want. It is sometimes considered that the market even knows what will become of the future. It seems as if the market has become an omniscient and ubiquitous being. As a result, the "Market" spelled with a capital "M" makes judgements instead of us for almost everything, even our marriage and the number of children we bear.

Here, from a theological perspective, human desire is the object of interest. Although desire itself is not considered a sin in Christianity, desire becomes a problem when it is directed to inappropriate purposes, because that would be a waste of human desire given by God. That would mean that desire has been distracted, leading to distortion of the human being and society.

Market economy is not good or bad in itself. The market developed from the surrounding human environment such as families, nations, communities and religious traditions, however, as the other elements grew weak and lost their power, the market alone has become inappropriately mighty and strong. It needs to be returned to its appropriate position, where it shall serve and not rule society.