WHAT DOES POST-CHRISTIAN MEAN?
WHAT DOES POST-CHRISTIAN MEAN?
By: Jack Guyler
The term Post-Christian has become a popular term in the church today. It is a term that refers to a nation or people group that once was absorbed in Christianity or Christian teaching and influence, but is no longer. Remnants of Christian teaching or influence may remain, but it is no longer the basis of society’s norms, values or morals. This term doesn’t apply to regions of the world where Christianity didn’t exist or existed only in small pockets. The term refers to regions or nations such as the United States of America where Christian principles and values greatly influenced day to day life.
Less than one hundred years ago, the church was the center of religious and social life in America and was seen as the authority in many areas of life beyond just religion. Less than fifty years ago in the United States, the church was still one of the major institutions that much of American life revolved around and where people went to seek answers for life and was greatly trusted for information and guidance in areas such as health, parenting, marriage, relationships, finances and learning. As we enter 2021, this has changed. Along with it, not only is American society as a whole not looking to the church for guidance in these areas, it is also no longer seen as the primary guide or authority concerning faith or religion. In other words, in a Post-Christian world, the church and God are moved from the center to the fringes. Its influence can still be found, but it is very dim and has little influence or impact compared to the past.
Christian values and language that once permeated society, and were taken for granted as the foundation of that society, are no longer familiar to people. Christian terms, stories and expressions have to be explained to most people. Along with this, the foundation of Christianity, the bible, has also been pushed to the fringes, even among those who do attend church. Most church goers don’t read the bible much. Recently the Barna Research Group found that only 14% of Americans read the bible daily and over 50% of Americans have never read the bible (2019). Less and less people are reading the bible. On average even before the pandemic, only 17% of Americans attended church on any given Sunday. The point here is, the impact that the church is having on society has greatly diminished over the past fifty years.
One of the characteristics of a Post-Christian world is that people enjoy the advances that Christianity has brought to their lives and their society, without realizing their origin. And for some, they enjoy the fruits of what Christianity has brought them, but reject Christ or Christian teachings as a basis for their lives. Such things include human equality, gender equality, charity and the abolishment of slavery. While in the United States, as we were vividly reminded again in 2020, we still have work to do in areas such as equality and justice, but because of the influence of Christianity and Christian principles, great strides have been made and we are in position to have conversations about these things and work together to make further progress in these areas.
Three of the dangers of a post-Christian society are these:
It is easy for false teachers to pass off teaching that is not founded on the basics of scripture as Christian teaching. First, this leads biblically illiterate people further away from the truth of God and second, it pollutes true Christian teaching with errors and after a while they all run together confusing people. It doesn’t even give people a chance to accept or reject historical Christianity.
As the bible and its historical teachings fade further into the background, the ethic of personal responsibility fades as well. People and a society need something to base their values and principles upon. In a Post-Christian society, people scramble to find something to fill this void with. In our world today, it is filled with whatever is the hot subject on our social media feeds, propaganda, conspiracy theories or group think (such as the influence of cancel culture). We live in a world where our actions are to be blamed on someone else. It is finding fault with others, but not looking at ourselves. It is people doing what they want, regardless of how it affects others. This goes against true Christian teaching.
A third danger is that believing in God is essentially canceled and that God is canceled. Many people today, for example, either have not read the bible, or have never read it in its historical context, have canceled God because they see Him as harsh, angry, homophobic, and committing genocide. Over time, it becomes difficult to find support as a person of faith for trusting in God. It becomes easier to go with the current of secularism. And this becomes a societal slippery slope because again you have few values and principles that a group or nation of people can agree upon to base everyday life.
Finally, “eventually a post-Christian society moves from assuming Christian values to ignoring them, to resenting them, to repressing them, and eventually to persecuting them. What was once Christian and is now post-Christian will eventually become anti-Christian” (gotquestions.org).
Post-Christian nations or societies slowly, but surely, end up rejecting Judeo-Christian ethics and principles to their detriment. To summarize, a Post-Christian world is one in which Christianity was once embraced, but it is no longer embraced or recognized.
