In his seminal work, The Meaning and End of Religion, Wilfred Cantwell Smith proposes using two separate concepts for religious studies. Believing that the conventional approach to the study of “a religion” or “religions” is inadequate and misleading, Smith states: “If religion or a religion is anything, it is not only in fact but in theory something to be actually lived by, historical figures are involved” (1838). Therefore, he offers his theories on the examination of “faith” and “cumulative tradition” as most valuable to any intellectual analysis of humanity's religious experience. With these two distinct, yet related, concepts, Smith theorizes that religious studies can better capture both the mundane and transcendent aspects that constitute the entire religious life of man (1899-1908). These approaches cover both personal and historical elements: faith is man's internal, subjective and personal religious experience (including the transcendent aspect) and cumulative traditions are the external, objective and observable historical religious evidence (the worldly). Smith goes on to offer his new theories to the Christian Church as it struggles to maintain relevance in a modern world dominated by science and “men of new knowledge, new opportunities, new responsibilities” (2406). He suggests that this dual method of analysis could help the Church formulate a “new theology that will enable Christians to be both more modern and more godly” (Smith 2396-97). With the contemporary issue of same-sex marriage, the Christian Church faces a serious confrontation between modern secular thought and traditional religious beliefs. While growing public opinion is in favor of equal rights for homosexuals and more state… at the center of the document… the issue of same-sex marriage. Works Cited “Methodist History.” BU School of Theology Library. Boston University. and Wed. December 9, 2013Otterman, Sharon. “Trapped in Methodism's divide over same-sex marriage.” The New York Times. May 5, 2013. New York: The New York Times. Network. December 8, 2013.sex-marriage.html>Wangsness, Lisa. “Among Methodists, schism over gay rites”. The Boston Globe. November 24, 2013 Boston: The Boston Globe. Network. December 8, 2013Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. The meaning and end of religion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1963. Kindle file.