Ross Douthat has just posted an excellent NYT article on the status of Christianity in our day, as we approach Christmas. Of course, Christmas has religious significance for some, and economic or merely cultural significance for others. Douthat refers to two books, both of which sound excellent (and only one of which I’ve cracked): American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
Putnam and Campbell are quantitative, liberal, and upbeat; Hunter is qualitative, conservative and conflicted. But both books come around to a similar argument: this month’s ubiquitous carols and crèches notwithstanding, believing Christians are no longer what they once were — an overwhelming majority in a self-consciously Christian nation. The question is whether they can become a creative and attractive minority in a different sort of culture, where they’re competing not only with rival faiths but with a host of pseudo-Christian spiritualities, and where the idea of a single religious truth seems increasingly passé.
Or to put it another way, Christians need to find a way to thrive in a society that looks less and less like any sort of Christendom — and more and more like the diverse and complicated Roman Empire where their religion had its beginning, 2,000 years ago this week.
On balance, I agree. Read the whole thing. Douthat’s article reminds me of Mark Dever’s great sermon about Jesus paying taxes to a corrupt, anti-God government.