FROM SACRED TO SECULAR: THE RATIONALIZATION OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY.

This paper outlines the transition in thought from what has been called the "monastic ideal" to the current stages of "rational capitalism". It treats the way in which the transition from sacred to secular thought systems (especially since the Protestant Reformation) has led to the establishment of an unforeseen dilemma, i.e., a trend toward a moral society of amoral members. This condition has been brought about in some ways intentionally and in other ways inadvertently, by eliminating magic from the world in the form of the societal members' acceptance of and preoccupation with papal infallibility, religious ritual, sin, and salvation. The above had the consequence of rationalizing society and allowing for greater predictability and economic gain. Many of the stages in this transition, the sum total of which now constitutes the social and theological dilemma noted above, often resulted in spite of and contrary to the avowed intentions of their unwitting creators. The paper treats the question of how these "latent" functions managed to "manifest" themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]