Paper. 'A drop in the ocean: a response to R.M. Mansbach, by Harry Parkin. 20 ff., typescript, carbon copy, fcp. Professor Mansbach's article in Commentary, Oct-Nov 1981 asks: 'Is religion a thing of the past?'

His view, as a social scientist, is that it should be confined to the sphere of ethics. Parkin discusses various situations and the works of several writers. Japan has been influenced by industrialization. Dr. Judith M. Brown, of the University of Manchester, notes that 'both Hindu and Christian traditions are living through a period of stress'. (Men and Gods in a Changing World. SCM: London, 1980). In 1980 a new Buddhist seminary was opened near Nanjing. G.H. Jansen (Militant Islam. Pan: London, 1979), notes that the ordinary Muslim, in former times, lived his daily life according to the precepts of Islam. Parkin held that the future of religion will be determined by its references to reality and truth, despite modern rationalism and other pressures. S.F. Nadel (Nupe religion: Routledge and Kegan Paul: London, 1954), summarized changes in Eastern religions, and like Mansbach, acknowledged the contribution made by religion to social unity and progress. The role of religion continues to be that of asserting that there is more than a material dimension to life.

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