Peter Berger

What a delightful man! Really--his continuous stories and jokes make listening to him talk much more interesting than other luncheon speakers (the lunch was primarily Q and A, which is why my comments on Berger are especially disjointed).

Best Berger quote: "He was slightly mad, but in an interesting way" (referring to some French economist who works at Mars, the candy company).

He was happy to critique the field of sociology as a whole (or 80 to 85% of it), particularly the aspects that were concerned with methodology to the exclusion of other forms of knowledge, as well as the aspects of sociology that are ideologically driven.

He offered something of a defense of the prosperity gospel, which was intriguing. He mentioned in particular a South African pentecostal church at which he said he heard a sermon with two points: 1) God doesn't want you to be poor; 2) Here's how not to be (the church itself had started a business school to aid in the development of small businesses). He pointed out that there isn't much to object to there, and that it could be that at least this version of the prosperity gospel could aid the Global South.

Berger, originally an advocate of the secularization thesis, changed his mind on this point in the 70s. He said that this change of mind was due, in part, to his experience with the American counter-culture. By which he explained that Woodstock convinced him that religion was not disappearing. He sees the problem that the modern man faces as the problem of alienation from the spiritual.


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