The cultural landscape of America has undergone a seismic shift, with the once-dominant Judeo-Christian worldview giving way to a post-modern, post-Christian, and increasingly post-Western cultural crisis. This transition reflects a profound transformation in the very core of American society, as the certainties of the past have been supplanted by a prevailing ethos of relativism and subjectivity. At the heart of this cultural shift is a deep philosophical and theological dissonance, which, when analyzed through the lens of Christian theology and cultural criticism, reveals the nature of the current crisis and its implications for the future.
The Decline of Objective Truth and the Rise of Relativism
One of the most significant consequences of this cultural shift is the rejection of objective or absolute truth. The post-modern ethos asserts that truth is a subjective construct, internalized and privatized. Rather than adhering to universally accepted standards of morality and truth, individuals are now seen as their own moral arbiters. A recent Barna study supports this assertion, finding that 58% of U.S. adults agree with the statement, “Whatever is right for your life or works best for you is the only truth you can know.”1 This radical shift has destabilized the moral foundations of society, as the belief in a transcendent, revealed moral order has been replaced by an emphasis on personal authenticity and self-expression. Such relativism, as Christian ethicists argue, undermines the capacity for moral discernment and weakens the social fabric by eroding the shared values necessary for communal life.
In theological terms, this cultural shift reflects a departure from a biblical worldview, where truth is understood as objective and grounded in the character of God. The Apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans 1:25, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,”2 encapsulates the essence of the post-Christian condition. As America increasingly turns away from its Christian heritage, it has embraced a form of moral anarchy where individuals, not divine revelation, are the final authorities on matters of truth and ethics. This is not merely a cultural trend but a profound theological crisis that challenges the very notion of moral absolutes that Christianity has long championed.
The Crisis in Law and Justice
The consequences of this relativistic turn are evident in the realm of law and justice. Revisionist legal theories now dominate the courts, replacing the historical concern for right and wrong with political arguments over rights and privileges. Justice, once rooted in a moral consensus, has become a highly contested and politicized concept. Legal scholars such as Mary Ann Glendon have noted that contemporary legal discourse is increasingly shaped by what she terms “rights talk,” a mode of argumentation that elevates individual rights over communal responsibilities and moral duties.3 This shift has resulted in a legal system more concerned with therapeutic outcomes and personal grievances than with the pursuit of righteousness and justice as traditionally understood.
Theologically, this shift represents a rejection of the biblical concept of justice, which is intrinsically tied to the character of God and His law. Justice in Scripture is not merely a political or social construct but a divine imperative that reflects God’s righteous rule over His creation. The abandonment of this biblical framework in favor of secular and therapeutic approaches to law and justice signals a deeper cultural malaise: a loss of the transcendent moral order that once undergirded American society.
The Disintegration of Intellectual and Moral Discourse
A parallel crisis has emerged in the intellectual sphere, where post-modern theories, such as deconstructionism, have undermined the very notion of objective knowledge. The academy, once dedicated to the pursuit of truth, has been deeply affected by the rise of relativism and ideological dogma. As philosopher Roger Scruton has observed, contemporary academic discourse is increasingly characterized by “the repudiation of truth in favor of power,”4 with many disciplines reduced to incoherence by the dominance of political arguments and identity-based grievances.
This intellectual disintegration is paralleled by a similar decline in moral discourse. As media and mass culture have shaped the American consciousness, the ability of the average citizen to engage in serious moral conversations has diminished. Studies suggest that media consumption habits significantly affect moral reasoning, with exposure to violent and morally ambiguous content reducing individuals’ sensitivity to ethical issues.5 The pervasive influence of television and social media has further trivialized the public square, making thoughtful moral reflection increasingly rare.
Theologically, this trend reflects a loss of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer termed the Imago Dei—the belief that human beings, made in the image of God, possess an inherent capacity for moral discernment and rational reflection. As this theological anthropology is increasingly rejected in favor of a therapeutic worldview that emphasizes emotional well-being over moral responsibility, society loses its ability to sustain meaningful moral conversations. The implications of this are profound: without a shared moral framework grounded in objective truth, the very possibility of moral discourse becomes elusive.
The Role of the Arts and Media in Cultural Decline
The arts, which once played a central role in shaping the moral imagination, have become a battleground in the post-Christian cultural crisis. Decadence and nihilism pervade much of contemporary art, with violence, pornography, and banality often portrayed as high culture. This cultural shift is not merely a reflection of changing tastes but a symptom of a deeper spiritual malaise. As cultural critic Neil Postman argued, modern society has become increasingly “amused to death,”6 with entertainment displacing serious engagement with moral and philosophical issues.
Moreover, the technological advancements of our era, including the discoveries made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have further expanded the horizons of human knowledge, revealing the vastness and complexity of the universe in unprecedented ways. These discoveries, however, raise profound theological questions about humanity’s place in the cosmos and the nature of divine revelation. The sheer immensity of the universe, as unveiled by the JWST, challenges anthropocentric understandings of creation and compels theologians to reconsider traditional doctrines of creation and providence in light of the grandeur of the cosmos.7
Conclusion: Theological Reflection on the Post-Christian Condition
In conclusion, the cultural crisis facing post-Christian America is not merely a sociological or political phenomenon but a profound theological challenge. At its heart lies a rejection of the Christian understanding of truth, morality, and justice, and the embrace of a relativistic and therapeutic worldview that denies the existence of objective moral and theological realities. As theologians such as Alasdair MacIntyre have argued, the fragmentation of moral discourse in contemporary society can only be remedied by a recovery of the Christian moral tradition and a recommitment to the pursuit of truth grounded in divine revelation.8
Only by returning to the foundational truths of the Christian faith—rooted in the character of God, the authority of Scripture, and the moral teachings of the Church—can America hope to navigate the current cultural crisis. The alternative is a continued descent into moral and intellectual chaos, where the very possibility of truth and justice is lost amidst the cacophony of competing subjective claims.
Footnotes
1 Barna Group, The State of the Church 2020 (Ventura, CA: Barna Group, 2020).
2 Romans 1:25, New International Version (NIV).
3 Mary Ann Glendon, Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse (New York: Free Press, 1991).
4 Roger Scruton, Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015).
5 Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge, The Coddling of the American Mind (New York: Penguin Press, 2018).
6 Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin Books, 1985).
7 Alister E. McGrath, A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).
8 Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, 3rd ed. (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).
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