One Nation Under God Has Gone Prodigal

The true threat to Christianity in America today and the Christian way to respond.

If you were to ask a group of elite warfighters to name the two most important factors in winning a battle, many of them would probably say mindset and knowing the enemy. Mindset determines how a soldier performs in battle, while knowing the enemy helps build the most effective strategy. Together, they are essential for victory.

In a recent teaching series for Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Peter Jones introduced a biblically grounded way of understanding the threat now facing Christianity in America. In this essay we will explore key points from his first lesson in that series along with some timeless wisdom that offers critical elements of the mindset Christians need in order to prevail in the battle we face today.

A Shift That Changed Everything

In the 1960’s, America went through a big change in its religious beliefs. What had long been a culture rooted in Christian values began to embrace new spiritual ideas. Dr. Jones has studied these changes closely and sees this shift as much more than a normal generational transition.

This change was something much stronger, something he calls a "cataclysmic transformation." The largely biblical worldview that used to guide America was being replaced by a mix of obscure and new beliefs that focused on worshiping creation. Rejoicing in the gifts instead of the Giver has been “trending” ever since.

Sociologist Peter Berger helps explain what happened in his 1967 book The Sacred Canopy. Berger describes how a society founded upon biblical beliefs provides a common cultural understanding of what is right and wrong.

In turn, this belief system provides shelter from the passing storms of divisive cultural trends. If those new beliefs gain broad acceptance, the canopy begins to tatter, causing society’s beliefs to become more and more divided over time.

The Magnitude of Change

This change was not just why our Christian foundation began to falter. It’s what has caused the majority of social change since then. Now we live in a culture that is at least two generations removed from any experiential knowledge, firsthand or passed down directly through parenting, of what life was like in America for most of our history.

It’s hard for Americans today to understand the magnitude of the change. Consider this: The works of renown Christian thinkers like Alexis de Tocqueville, G.K. Chesterton, T.S. Eliot, and Abraham Kuyper, offer evidence that American society was once the envy of the Christian world before this change began. But over the last 60 years, America has gone the way of the prodigal son.