Can Christian Culture Survive Without Christianity?

Can you have Christian civilization without Christianity? We are testing that proposition right now in Europe and North America where we see a steep decline in Christian belief and worship attendance. Will this put an end to Christian culture?

It is not as easy a question to answer as you might think.

One person who thought it would was Friedrich Nietzsche. He said, “When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one’s feet.” Nietzsche was actually hoping that would happen, but is he right? Are we witnessing the end of Christian culture? Can it survive without a belief in Christian doctrine?

One person who says it will is Tom Holland: [one] of the great paradoxes of our age: that Christianity has no need of actual Christians for its assumptions still to flourish. (From Humanism is a Heresy)

Let’s consider both viewpoints, Nietzsche’s and Holland’s.

In a number of ways we are clearly seeing the decline of Christian culture.

The most obvious is the erosion of Christian sexual ethics. People in Western culture have stopped believing that there is any restraint on sexual behavior between consenting adults. Co habitation, hook up culture, pre-marital fornication, homosexuality, and all manner of sexual evil is now tolerated by the great mass of people in our culture. Paul predicted all this in Romans 1.

This has led to the outrage of abortion. One consequence of the sexual revolution has been out of wedlock pregnancies. Almost half of America’s babies are born to unwed mothers. The decision to get rid of the problem through killing the unborn is considered a sacred right by today’s women’s movement. The Christian church has opposed abortion from day one and its rise is a sign of the weakening of Christian cultural commitments.

On the heels of abortion on demand is the termination of children because they have downs syndrome or other defects. Iceland has been in the news for encouraging this atrocity. Before the coming of Christianity Icelanders practiced human sacrifice. It appears the practice is returning.  Other western nations also terminate the vast majority of unborn children detected with the syndrome.

Killing human beings before they are born is now accompanied by killing them when they are old or suffering. Canada has been in the news recently for its euthanasia practices. Last year that nation assisted over 10,000 people in killing themselves. The reasons vary but a person in Canada can have their life ended not just because they are suffering or terminally ill, but because they are mentally ill, suffering with depression, or feel they are too poor to go on living.  The practice of euthanasia runs full up against the values of Christian culture.

Eugenics continues to lurk in the background. That’s the practice of terminating human lives because they are considered inferior. The ancients had no problem with killing a baby with birth defects, disabilities, or because it was female. Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood in part with eugenics in mind. I used a text at the University of Colorado saying Adolph Hitler was the purist Social Darwinist of the 20^th century. Of course, Social Darwinism was full speed ahead on eugenics, the rise of which is a clear sign of decline in Christian cultural influence.

There are other indications of the decline in Christian culture. The erosion of the value of the individual, and ideologies that deny the importance of individual responsibility could all be named.

But Holland has a point and Christian culture is still very powerful. We see its influence in many ways. I have recently posted a couple of videos on Western atheists and their commitment to the sanctity of life, Human rights, and Social justice. These all result from atheists living in Christian culture even if you read the comments on those videos and see that atheists angrily deny the Christian influence.

In a recent video I pointed out the ways Christianity influences our thinking about sexual ethics. In spite of all the crazy ways of viewing sex these days almost everyone in the West believes in the age of consent—sex with children is illegal everywhere; the commercialization of sex, that is, prostitution, is illegal almost everywhere, and I think most importantly of all, Westerners believe in fidelity in relationships. When you have a significant other it is wrong to cheat on them. These are the results of Christian influence.

There are other ways Western culture remains Christian. 

Intellectuals believe in the protection of the weak. Nietzsche thought this was a way that Christianity weakened Western civilization. Hitler felt the same way. He was angered by the German clergy opposing his extermination of the mentally retarded and the disabled.

Westerners view universal healthcare as a human right. We are responsible for caring for the suffering of every member of society. This is, of course, an exclusively Christian value. Close to it is compassion for the poor. Society has a responsibility to supply the basic needs of its citizens. Again, a powerful residue of Christian culture.

We see other Christian values held passionately by Westerners who have no Christian commitment. When we look at Transparency Internationals corruption index the least corrupt countries in the world are all products of the Christian heritage. Interestingly, the bottom countries are almost all Muslim.

There are other values that are not exclusively Christian but have been promoted by Christian culture for two thousand years. The value of hard work, personal honesty and the importance of discipline and self-restraint.

One of the most important may be the Rule of law. Western Christianity ascribes a sacred character to the written law, the importance of obeying it, and its application to all citizens, no matter how rich and powerful they may be.

Then there is the value of the individual, individual freedom, and the importance of personal responsibility of one’s actions. How many times have you heard someone say, “Your life is the result of the choices you make.” That’s a very Christian way of looking at a person.

Which way will the West ultimately go? Only God knows. But it is clear the verdict is not yet in and that’s a subject for more videos.

Thanks for listening. May the God of the Bible bless you this day in a mighty way.

More: Atheism’s Biggest Problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa8JM8OQ_OQ

Where Non-Christians Agree with Christians About Sex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRo6hFk7WXU&t=197s

Holland’s essay is found here: https://unherd.com/?p=452353?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3&mc_cid=ea664946a5&mc_eid=5b400e1632

Example of a nation that has lost its Christian culture: Albania as a dystopian, post-Christian state: https://unherd.com/?p=454785?tl_inbound=1&tl_groups[0]=18743&tl_period_type=3&mc_cid=8f3a9c659d&mc_eid=5b400e1632

Down’s numbers: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/

Canada’s Euthanasia policy: https://unherd.com/thepost/leaked-slides-reveal-dark-side-of-canadas-euthanasia-policy/?mc_cid=514c4ce399&mc_eid=5b400e1632

Over 10,000 deaths: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/10000-canadian-euthanasia-killings-in-2021/