Postchristianity is the situation in which
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
is no longer the dominant
civil religion
Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols (such as the national flag), and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places (such as monuments, bat ...
of a society but has gradually assumed
values
In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...
,
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and
worldview
A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural p ...
s that are not necessarily
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Post-Christian tends to refer to the loss of Christianity's
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
to in historically Christian societies to
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
or
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
. It does not include formerly Christian-majority societies that now follow other religions such as
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.
Some scholars have disputed the global decline of Christianity, and instead hypothesized an evolution of Christianity, which allows it not only to survive but actively to expand its influence in contemporary societies.
Decline of Christianity
![E9697-Katoomba-Mes-Amis-French-brasserie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/E9697-Katoomba-Mes-Amis-French-brasserie.jpg)
Historically, the majority of Christians have lived in
Western nations
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. , once called
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
, and often conceptualized as
"European Christian" civilization.
A post-Christian society is one in which
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
is no longer the dominant
civil religion
Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols (such as the national flag), and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places (such as monuments, bat ...
but that has gradually assumed
values
In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...
,
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and
worldview
A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural p ...
s that are not necessarily Christian (and also may not necessarily reflect any world religion's standpoint or may represent a combination of either several religions or none). Post-Christian tends to refer to the loss of Christianity's
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
, if not its followers, in historically Christian societies. Post-Christian societies are found across the
Global North/West: for example, though the 2005
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...
survey indicated that the majority of Europeans hold some form of belief in a
higher power
Higher Power is a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other twelve-step programs. The same groups use the phrase "a power greater than ourselves" synonymously. The term sometimes refers to a supreme being or deity, or other conceptions of G ...
(see also "
Ietsism
Ietsism ( nl, ietsisme () – "somethingism") is an unspecified belief in an undetermined transcendent reality. It is a Dutch term for a range of beliefs held by people who, on the one hand, inwardly suspect – or indeed believe – ...
"); fewer point explicitly to the
Christian God
God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material u ...
.
Despite this decline, Christianity remains the dominant
religion in Europe
Religion in Europe has been a major influence on today's society, art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity, but irreligion and practical secularisation are strong. Three countries in Southeastern Europe ...
and the Americas. According to a 2010 study by the
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
, 76% of the
population of Europe
Figures for the population of Europe vary according to the particular Europe#Definition, definition of Europe's boundaries. In 2018, Europe had a total population of over 751 million people. Russia is the list of European countries by populati ...
,
[Including the Asian part of Russia, and excluding the European part of Turkey]
Regional distribution of Christians: Europe
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
. 77% of North America and 90% of Latin America and the Caribbean identified themselves as
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.
In his 1961 book ''
The Death of God
''The Death of God'' is a 1961 book by Gabriel Vahanian, a part of the discussion of death of God theology during the period.
Contents
In the book, Vahanian observes that many people in his era regarded the Christian God to be irrelevant to t ...
'', the French theologian
Gabriel Vahanian
Gabriel Vahanian (in Armenian Գաբրիէլ Վահանեան; 24 January 1927 – 30 August 2012) was a French Protestant Christian theologian who was most remembered for his pioneering work in the theology of the "death of God" movement withi ...
argued that modern secular culture in most of
Western civilization
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
had lost all sense of the
sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
, lacked any
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
al meaning, and disdained any
transcendental purpose or sense of
providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, bringing him to the conclusion that for the modern mind, "
God is dead
"God is dead" (German: ; also known as the death of God) is a statement made by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche's first use of this statement is his 1882 ''The Gay Science'', where it appears three times. The phrase also app ...
".
Thomas J. J. Altizer
Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer (May 28, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American university professor, religious scholar, and theologian, noted for his incorporation of Death of God theology and Hegelian dialectical philosophy into his body o ...
and William Hamilton of
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
drew upon a variety of sources, including the
aphorism
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
s of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...
's ''Letters and Papers from Prison'', and brought this line of thought to public attention in a short-lived intellectual movement of the mid-to-late-1960s among
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
theologians and ministerial students.
In public regional and world affairs
Postchristianity is the loss of the primacy of the Christian worldview in public affairs, especially in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. where
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
had previously flourished, in favor of alternative worldviews such as
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
,
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
,
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
, and organized atheism; sometimes militant as well as other ideologies such as
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
or
ethical veganism, that are no longer necessarily rooted in the language and assumptions of Christianity amongst many other ideologies. They previously existed in an environment of ubiquitous Christianity (i.e.
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
).
Alternative perspectives
Other scholars have disputed the global decline of Christianity, and instead hypothesized of an evolution of Christianity which allows it to not only survive, but actively expand its influence in contemporary societies.
Philip Jenkins
Philip Jenkins (born April 3, 1952) is a professor of history at Baylor University in the United States, and co-director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is also the Edwin Erle Sp ...
hypothesized a "Christian Revolution" in the
Global South
The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
, such as Africa, Asia and Latin America, where instead of facing decline, Christianity is actively expanding. The susceptibility to Christian teachings in the Global South will allow the Christian population in these areas to continually increase, and together with the shrinking of the Western Christian population, will form a "new Christendom" in which the majority of the world's Christian population can be found in the South.
Charles Taylor, meanwhile, disputes the "God is dead" thesis by arguing that the practices and understandings of faith changed long before the late 20th century, along with secularism itself. In ''
A Secular Age
''A Secular Age'' is a book written by the philosopher Charles Taylor which was published in 2007 by Harvard University Press on the basis of Taylor's earlier Gifford Lectures (Edinburgh 1998–99). The noted sociologist Robert Bellah has refe ...
'' Taylor argues that being "free from Christendom" has allowed Christianity to endure and express itself in various ways, particularly in Western society; he notes that otherwise secular ideas were, and continue to be, formed in light of some manner of faith. He stresses that "loss of faith" reflects simplistic notions on the nature of
secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
, namely the idea of "subtraction." Thus "post-Christian" is, after a fashion, a product of Christianity itself.
John Micklethwait
Richard John Micklethwait (born 11 August 1962) is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a position he has held since February 2015. A British journalist, he was previously the editor-in-chief of ''The Economist'' from 2006 to 2015.
Life and car ...
and
Adrian Wooldridge
Adrian Wooldridge (born 1959) is an author and columnist. He is the Global Business Columnist at Bloomberg Opinion.
Life and career
Wooldridge was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied modern history and was awarded a fellowshi ...
wrote ''
God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World'', claiming that there is a global
revival of faith has started in the late twentieth century.
Other uses
Some American Christians (primarily Protestants) also use this term in reference to the
evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
of
unchurched
"Unchurched" (alternatively, "The Unchurched" or "unchurched people") means, in the broad sense, people who are Christians but not connected with a church. In research on religious participation, it refers more specifically to people who do not att ...
individuals who may have grown up in a non-Christian culture where traditional
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
references may be unfamiliar concepts. This perspective argues that, among previous generations in the United States, such concepts and other artifacts of
Christianese would have been common cultural knowledge and that it would not have been necessary to teach this language to adult
converts
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
to Christianity. In this sense, post-Christian is not used pejoratively, but is intended to describe the special remediative care that would be needed to introduce
new Christian
New Christian ( es, Cristiano Nuevo; pt, Cristão-Novo; ca, Cristià Nou; lad, Christiano Muevo) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction in the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. The term was used from the 15th century ...
s to the nuances of Christian life and practice.
Some groups use the term "post-Christian" as a self-description.
Dana McLean Greeley, the first president of the
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...
, described
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...
as postchristian, insofar as Christians no longer considered it Christian, while persons of other religions would likely describe it as Christian, at least historically.
[Daniel Harper]
"What is a 'post-Christian'?"
/ref>
See also
* Apatheism
Apatheism (; a portmanteau of ''apathy'' and ''theism'') is the attitude of apathy towards the existence or non-existence of God(s). It is more of an attitude rather than a belief, claim, or belief system. The term was coined by Robert Nash, theo ...
* Christian atheism
Christian atheism is a form of Christianity that rejects the theistic claims of Christianity, but draws its beliefs and practices from Jesus' life and teachings as recorded in the New Testament Gospels and other sources.
Christian atheism ta ...
* Christian existentialism
Christian existentialism is a theo-philosophical movement which takes an existentialist approach to Christian theology. The school of thought is often traced back to the work of the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) ...
* Cultural Christian
Cultural Christians are nonreligious persons who adhere to Christian values and appreciate Christian culture. As such, these individuals usually identify themselves as culturally Christians, and are often seen by practicing believers as nomina ...
ity
* Postmodern Christianity
Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post-Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, an ...
* Postmodern Reformation
* Post-theism
Post-theism is a variant of nontheism that proposes that the division of theism vs. atheism is obsolete, that God belongs to a stage of human development now past. Within nontheism, post-theism can be contrasted with antitheism. The term appears ...
* Secular movement
The secular movement refers to a social and political trend in the United States, beginning in the early years of the 20th century, with the founding of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism in 1925 and the American Humanist Ass ...
* '' A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born'' by John Shelby Spong
John Shelby "Jack" Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. From 1979 to 2000, he was the Bishop of Newark, New Jersey. A liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author, he call ...
References
Further reading
''Liberal Religion in the Post Christian Era'', Edward A. Cahill, 1974
* ''The Post Christian Mind: Exposing Its Destructive Agenda'', Harry Blamires, Vine, 1999 ().
*
* "The Death of God: The Culture of Our Post-Christian Era", Gabriel Vahanian, George Braziller, NY, 1961
* Dana MacLean Greeley, ''25 Beacon Street, and Other Recollections'' (Boston: Beacon Press, 1971), pp. 11–12.
* Thomas J. J. Altizer
Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer (May 28, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American university professor, religious scholar, and theologian, noted for his incorporation of Death of God theology and Hegelian dialectical philosophy into his body o ...
, The Gospel of Christian Atheism (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966).
* Thomas J. J. Altizer and William Hamilton, Radical Theology and the Death of God (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966).
* Bernard Murchland, ed., The Meaning of the Death of God (New York: Random House, 1967)
* Phillip Jenkins, ''God's Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe's Religious Crisis'' (Oxford: University Press, 2005)
* Phillip Jenkins, ''The Christian Revolution'' in The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, Oxford University Press, 2002.
* Stuart Murray, ''Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World'', Paternoster Press, 2004 ().
* Stuart Murray, ''Church after Christendom'', Paternoster Press, 2004 ({{ISBN, 978-1-84227-292-3).
* Charles Taylor, ''A Secular Age'' (Harvard: Belknap Press, 2007).
Death of God theology
Christianity in the late modern period