The Roman Empire was pluralistic and multicultural. It allowed all sorts of religious practices and beliefs, but it could not tolerate Christianity. Christians were considered to be seditious because of their refusal to offer sacrifices to Roman gods. Eventually, however, the empire became Christianized to a degree, and over time, political and religious liberty would become widespread.For several decades, though, the influence of Christianity has been waning in the West. In countries like Canada and the United States, the number of people professing to be Christians and going to church has been declining precipitously. The result has been a corresponding decline in the influence of Christian principles in politics and government. This is reflected in the “culture war” between socially conservative views and “progressive” views about family, life, and morality.The consequences of Christians losing the culture war have been recently spelled out by John Daniel Davidson in his 2024 book, Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come. In his view, Christians will once again be facing persecution as the neopagan Left wins the culture war and continues to marginalize Christianity..Davidson argues that the American experiment in freedom is collapsing due to the loss of Christian influence in society. The Founders of the United States designed a constitution that could only work in a society where a large number of people exercised moral virtue, and the source of that virtue was Christianity.As the twentieth century progressed, Christian influence in American culture and society rapidly dissipated. Eventually, the US Supreme Court began to issue decisions requiring the government to favor secularism over the country’s historic Christian heritage. Supposedly, this would mean taking a “neutral” stance on matters related to religion. But as Davidson points out, “What begins with a claim that the state must be neutral toward religion ends with an imperative that the state persecute religion in the name of neutrality.”Among the most obvious consequences of the loss of Christian cultural influence is the widespread acceptance and practice of abortion. Abortion is often not just seen as a reluctant necessity but is celebrated as a positive good.For example, in the 2018 midterm elections, Taylor Swift publicly endorsed the Democrat candidate for US Senator from Tennessee because of his pro-abortion views. She referred to her “moral compass” in supporting abortion, saying it’s “really basic human rights.”.As Davidson notes, “For Swift, whose views reflect a growing trend among young Americans, there is not only no moral opprobrium attached to abortion, but opposition to it is now considered an immoral infringement on the rights of women. The willful destruction of an unborn child, according to this morality, represents the triumph of human liberty and the realization of the truly autonomous individual.”Besides abortion, the loss of Christian influence has led to the rise of transgenderism. Essentially, this is where people claim to have been born into the “wrong body” — a female was born into a male body, or a male was born into a female body. That is the claim, anyway.Davidson explains that in these cases, the issue is not scientific or medical. Instead, the issue is metaphysical. Being born in the wrong body is a metaphysical claim of a supposed misalignment of body and soul. Medical treatment cannot cure that sort of thing.And yet, in just a few years, the transgender cause has gone from the margins of society to mainstream. “A decade ago, for example, almost no one talked or thought about the trans movement or gender ideology. But today, unquestioning support for it is mandatory; if you refuse to affirm that a man can become a woman, you can’t be considered an upright moral person in good standing with polite society.”.The decline of Christian influence has also led to outright legal and political attacks on Christians.In one of the best-known cases, Colorado baker Jack Phillips has repeatedly been in court for, first, refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, and then secondly, for refusing to bake a cake to celebrate a transgender man’s gender transition. Phillips is hated and widely vilified for refusing to compromise his Christian beliefs. Barronelle Stutzman, an elderly florist in Washington state, went through a similar ordeal for refusing to make a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding.These examples illustrate Davidson’s central point: “The end of the Christian moral order will not, as some once predicted, usher in an era of libertarian tolerance, a live-and-let-live utopia where everyone adheres to the non-aggression principle and each citizen is free to live as he or she chooses. The absence of Christian morality does not mean that no morality will be imposed on public life, but simply that a different morality will be imposed — a fundamentally pagan morality. The difference of course is that the post-Christian pagan morality will not tolerate dissent the way Christian morality did. Having reverted to the ancient separation of religion from morality, the new state morality will be compulsory on every citizen, no matter one’s religion or creed.”Dechristianization is the current direction of North American society. The secularists and neopagans will continue to push for their preferred political outcomes, and if they are successful, we will live under tyranny.
