Parohia în fața provocărilor fenomenului neoreligios: repere pastoral-misionare

Abstract

Postmodernity, as an axial moment of modernity, brings fast and profound changes into the contemporary world. Continuing at a different level the attributes of modernity, it implies rationalism, subjectivism, utilitarian individualism, and secularisation. On this ground, a new type of religiosity arises, adapted to the new social and cultural realities and influenced by religious pluralism, the decline of theism, and the crisis of traditional Churches. It affects the Church, in general, and every parochial community, in particular. For this reason, the Church and every parish must promptly react by elaborating and applying dedicated pastoral and missionary strategies, in order to diminish the preponderance of “sociological parish“ in favour of the “active parish“. Here are delineated few strategies concerning clergymen’s activity, the active implication of the laymen in the pastoral and missionary activity of the parish, and a change in the sequence catechesis → Liturgy → implication is suggested. Without claiming exhaustiveness, these strategies can represent at least a starting point in the activity of bringing back the lost members of the Church.