Christianity’s impact on culture is profound, shaping everything from how we think about family to the purpose of government. However, understanding the mechanisms by which Christianity influences culture and how cultural shifts, in turn, affect religious belief is a complex task. Three books have shaped my understanding of this dynamic, and each addresses different dimensions of the intersection between Christianity and culture. They challenge conventional wisdom and provide insights that significantly altered my perspective.
Family as the foundation
Mary Eberstadt’s How the West Really Lost God (2013) transformed my understanding of secularization. Traditional theories suggest that societies become more secular as they become wealthier and more scientifically advanced. Eberstadt challenges this assumption by presenting a compelling alternative: The decline of the family is deeply intertwined with the decline of religious belief.
She roots her argument in the idea that the family serves as a divinely commissioned institution for the transmission of faith. Families are not social constructs. They are essential vessels for passing down religious beliefs and practices. When family life weakens—due to declining birth rates, increased divorce rates, and cultural shifts away from honoring traditional family values—religious belief also suffers.
Instead of seeing secularization as an inevitable byproduct of modernity, I now understand it as a phenomenon tied to social structures. Eberstadt’s thesis is proving true since statistics tell us that religious observance in America generally tracks with family structure: Intact families tend to be more religious. This insight also underscores the importance of strengthening the family if Christianity is to have a continued cultural presence. Rather than merely lamenting the rise of secularism, believers must engage in revitalizing family life as a means of sustaining faith for future generations.
Christianity and the state
Richard John Neuhaus’ The Naked Public Square (1984) illuminated for me the role Christianity plays as a mediating force between individuals and the state. In contemporary society, there is a growing tendency to relegate religious belief to the private sphere, treating it as something personal rather than a force that shapes public life. Neuhaus argues that stripping the public square of religious influence leaves it vulnerable to the rise of statism and the idolization of the self.
Christianity, according to Neuhaus, does not merely consist of internalized beliefs; it provides a framework for understanding the world and orienting our lives. Through Christianity’s influence, mediating institutions—such as churches, schools, and community organizations—are able to form people’s deepest convictions and counterbalance the power of the state. Without these institutions, the state becomes the primary source of moral authority, leading to an erosion of personal freedoms and a diminished role for religious conscience in public life.
One of Neuhaus’ most powerful insights is that the exclusion of Christianity from public discourse does not result in neutrality. It results in state-sponsored secularism as the default ethic of society. The myth of neutrality creates a vacuum that is filled by alternative ideologies—often ones that elevate state power or individual autonomy to an almost religious status. It’s important to maintain a public role for Christianity, not just for the sake of religious believers, but for the health of society as a whole.
If Christians abandon the public square, they provide an opening for dangerous worldviews to dominate.
Culture’s moral underpinnings
The final book that significantly influenced my thinking on Christianity and culture is Robert P. George’s Making Men Moral (1993). In this work, George grapples with one of the most pressing challenges in contemporary society: How can we establish a public morality that accounts for justice, truth, and moral order in a pluralistic world? He finds his answer in the natural law tradition, which he argues provides a foundational framework for understanding human goods and shaping law and culture accordingly. George’s book is not a Christian book per se, but the attentive reader will see how his argument coincides with Christian teaching about justice, morality, and truth.
George argues there are objective moral truths society must recognize in order to function justly. These truths are not arbitrary but are grounded in the basic goods of human nature—goods such as life, the pursuit of knowledge and truth, family, and community. He demonstrates—without asserting directly—that these basic human goods align closely with Biblical morality.
One of the most compelling aspects of Making Men Moral is its rejection of the idea that laws should be morally neutral. Many contemporary thinkers believe laws should avoid making moral judgments to accommodate a diverse society. However, George counters that every law embodies some moral vision. The real question is not whether morality should inform law, but which morality should do so. A just society, he argues, must be built on a foundation that upholds human dignity and the common good.
This book helped me understand that public morality is not merely a matter of individual preference or cultural consensus; it is grounded in deeper moral truths that transcend subjective opinions.
Together, these books have reinforced my conviction that Christianity is not just a private belief system but a vital force in shaping civilization. They challenge the notion that faith should be relegated to the margins of public life and instead affirm that Christianity offers essential moral and social insights that benefit society. In an era in which secularism and relativism often dominate cultural discourse, the wisdom found in these works provides a compelling case for the continued relevance of Christian thought in shaping our world.
This article originally appeared at WORLD Magazine on March 13, 2025.
