Cultural Christianity’s Ambivalence

The question of what to do with our Christian inheritance—what we call “cultural Christianity”—has become unavoidable. Cultural Christians wish to preserve the cultural, political, and intellectual traditions and institutions Christendom left behind, and for good reason; modern democracy, intellectual honesty, and the pursuit of truth are fruits of Christianity, and their erosion has had dire consequences across politics, academia, and journalism. But while cultural Christianity can prove valuable as a conservative force that resists thoughtless reforms, when divorced from the Church’s core mission of salvation and conversion, it ultimately proves not only insufficient but even self-destructive. 

In the public square, pro-Christian voices can be deeply valuable, and many cultural Christians have good intentions. Some, however, become attached to a nostalgic ideal that has little bearing on reality. In parish life, it’s been my experience that such individuals can be hard to handle: They show up with strange expectations or demands. To be fair—at least they show up; they choose to participate, more or less, in their Christian communities rather than walk away. But they often do so on their own terms and forget to anchor their zeal to the mission of the Church; fearing annihilation, an instinct to survive takes over, and they want to keep up culture and institutions, not to say appearances, even at the cost of giving up substantial parts of the faith. 

Here lies a real danger for those committed to “evangelizing the culture.” How does the Church reach out to actual people? Are we evangelizing “the culture” because it is less messy than dealing with individuals and families? Culture, whatever its influence, is an epiphenomenon. God created and redeemed human beings, not human culture. 

Cultural Christians also run the risk of making an idol out of beauty. Aestheticism looms large among Christian intellectuals today, especially self-proclaimed champions of liturgy, reformed and traditional alike. It’s even more prevalent online. But concern with aesthetics can distract from the salvation of souls—the Church’s prime raison d’être. Unless evangelization is about salvation, it is not evangelization. Beauty is even more easily manipulated and corrupted than her transcendental sisters, truth and goodness.

That said, cultural Christianity can play an important role at the heart of the Church. Thanks to its inherent resistance to change, it puts up a fight against endless updating and reforming of popular piety and liturgy. It holds on to traditions against elite projects of “improving” liturgical spaces and events—projects often short on doctrinal grounding and driven by plenty of clericalism, centralism, and paternalism. In these contests, cultural Christians provide real checks and balances. At the same time, cultural Christians share with clericalists a tendency to produce theological justifications that are not anchored in Revelation. Current synods, not only in Germany, are a testament to this tendency: structurally conservative, but doctrinally fluid.

Before the broad spectrum of cultural Christianity, we must keep our priorities straight, remembering that what Christians desire is a “share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs . . . and all your Saints.” This is what Christians pray and work for, what the Church is. This fellowship is about conversion and redemption. Cultural Christians are strong allies in preventing the destruction of what remains. For rebuilding and evangelizing, however, they can lack the orientation, motivation, and perseverance that only a living faith can supply. This is not to condemn anyone, but it is important to recognize the limits of what cultural Christianity can achieve. 

Prayer instructs belief and action: Lex orandi points to lex credendi et agendi (rather than the other way around). Building a Christian culture is not a parallel project but a consequence of the Church’s mission to invite and integrate others into fellowship with the saints. This often starts with the cultural Christians right in front of us. It requires discernment: recognizing the remnants and values already present in our lives, but also being honest about what was lost, what is missing, and what was corrupted.

Cultural Christianity is a deeply ambivalent reality. When it is divorced from the Church and drifts away, when it pretends to be the fullness of Christianity, it is not worth saving. Such ill-oriented cultural Christianity is a distraction and has massively contributed to our present post-Christian condition. The Church cannot betray her mission out of fear of declining numbers. The secular project of retaining some “useful” elements of Christianity has failed and must be abandoned. In simple Augustinian terms, it is about where we are headed, rather than where we are: If cultural Christianity means drifting away from God, a radical turnaround is needed. Cultural Christians need to find the courage to go all in, and we can help them do so.