The decline of religious affiliation or belief has been a prevalent and significant phenomenon in Western societies. Books, articles, surveys, and conferences have swelled with a perceived need to analyze this shift, often referred to as secularization, spiritual-but-not-religious or non-religion. In the United States, polls show a downward trajectory in denominational adherence since 1990, as well as a rise in people self-identifying as religiously unaffiliated.^{[1]} Numbers are equally compelling from an international perspective: Declines in church attendance^{[2]}^{,[3]}, Christian practice and identification^{[4]}, and increases in non-religious perspectives are also seen in Western Europe^{[5]}^{,[6]}, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Secularization’s supposed omnipresence is debatable, yet this sociological critique of faith as a diminishing social force is a recurring refrain in popular disvcourse, church circles, and at the Water Cooler.
Definitions of these terms have varied between disciplines, but for our purposes secularization can be understood simply as religion’s perceived reduction in cultural significance. The following analysis will delineate four primary reasons that underlie the current experience of secularization. It is critical to understand these not as definitive explanations, but as key phenomena that deserve attention and deliberate response. This paper will offer insights as to how a vital and effective Christian community might respond in a socially changing environment.
1. Loss of Moral Authority
For many individuals, the institutional church in the West has lost its moral authority, especially concerning ethical issues. As a result, people question whether the teachings of the Church reflect an objective set of values dictated by God or if they merely reflect outdated human prejudices. Sexual abuse scandals, mismanagement of resources, and general clerical abuse of power have further eroded trust in the ecclesial institution as well. The media has publicized a nujber of pastoral failings, and the permeating perception—whether warranted or not—is that the Catholic Church, for example, has shown itself to be more “sinful” than sanctified in practice. To many people, the Church has appeared more concerned with preserving her image than providing authentic spiritual leadership and Christ-like humility.
If the church is to regain respect and moral authority in a secular climate, it must undergo a process of radical transformation through the practice of evangelical poverty, genuine service, and a renewed commitment to prophetic proclamation. Renewal requires the recognition of sin and the cultivation of an attentiveness to the Holy Spirit so that the Church may incarnate the transformative power of the Gospel. This means discarding unhealthy fear and defensiveness in favor of transparency and courageous change.
The root of our witness is credible personal discipleship. When lives visibly demonstrate the beauty, freedom, and love of Jesus Christ, people who would otherwise resist organized religion become curious about the wellspring from which joy and service well up. We must witness to the compelling reality of redemption, reconciliation, and the practical truth of having encountered Jesus in one’s life. When we do that, something of the majesty, mystery and transformative power of the gospel becomes visible to a world that now too often only sees scandals and hypocrisy.
Apart from individual transformation, the entire ecclesial system must work to instill accountability, transparency, and shared responsibility. Just as a movement away from patriarchy and towards equality in the laity heightens expectation of a corresponding shift in clergy behavior, a better organized means of responsible power distribution may go a long way in mending the rift between believers and institutional Christianity.
In order to re-establish trust in the Church’s moral leadership, leaders, and laity alike, must publicly acknowledge past mistakes, commit to concrete ways forward, and invite sincere forgiveness. While acknowledging and repairing the body’s sins, it is important to remember that our message and mission as evangelizers are not reducible to the flaws of men, but to the unique and potent promise of Jesus Christ.
2. Changing Cognitive Climate
The past two centuries have brought a series of cognitive shifts, impacting the way individuals approach knowledge and reality. Rene Descartes posited a radical doubt about all knowledge except for his own mind, inaugurating the modern epistemological obsession with certainty. From that point, a focus on verifiable, empirical truth has colored the Western intellectual landscape, in turn devaluing myth, metaphor, and tradition.
From the Enlightenment project to the present day, the influence of critical rationalism is unavoidable. These emphases have produced generations of people for whom skepticism is not just a part-time hobby, but rather an essential element of their worldview. This doesn’t necessarily mean that people have become more cynical or less open, but they carry a critical sensibility when it comes to claims about truth and meaning. The domain of religious discourse is no exception, with historical-criticism and scientific theories subtending much of the dissonance between the secularizing and religious sectors.
The declining prestige of Christianity in relation to academia can be attributed to the emergence of a cognitive climate where revealed truth often struggles for attention with the self-evidencing nature of science and empirically validated knowledge. A scientific worldview has claimed intellectual high ground, and religious apologetics, as they are currently constructed, often struggle to assert equal ground within a metaphysically neutral academic landscape.
The Catholic Church’s hierarchical epistemology—where she has long upheld the possibility of supernatural realities and divine revelation alongside empirical observation—has been eclipsed by a more defiantly secular and materialist ethos. Ironically, the Church’s resistance to some aspects of the Enlightenment may ironically facilitate her continued retreat from the collective conscience.
To more effectively engage the skeptics of today, the Church must learn from the best recent philosophical and scientific dialogue, staying abreast of new findings and questions while maintaining a deep knowledge of Christian doctrines. Shared endeavor in the realm of interdisciplinary study can only fortify belief: evidence of scientific advancement and technological sophistication proving themselves to be fundamentally unable to answer questions of ultimate meaning, value and transcendence provides crucial context and nuance to our proclamation of the Good News, offering a bridge of understanding to the modern, rationalistically inclined individual.
Christians must also recognize the limits of argument in the realm of belief. Ultimaetly, the heart must be made open to the profound love of God through the action of the Holy Spirit. Without a transformed heart, intellectual objections will persist.
To more effectively engage the skeptics of today, the Church must learn from the best recent philosophical and scientific dialogue, staying abreast of new findings and questions while maintaining a deep knowledge of Christian doctrines.
3. Cultural Shift
The cultural context of contemporary Western society radically differs from previous eras. Religious symbolism once subsumed American culture, with a generally Christian-infused national consciousness; now other worldviews have gained prominence. In addition to growing numbers of non-believers, adherents to other faiths, particularly Eastern ones, have blossomed.
Additionally, the postmodern suspicion of grand narratives has found fertile soil. With an emphasis on identity construction and self expression, our generation has generated a heterogenous and diverse social landscape. This pluralism forms the backdrop on which people decide to adopt (or reject) organized religion. The fruits of the sexual revolution, the rise of feminism, and social inequalities have heightened a popular sense that the Church is overly patriarchal, deeply conservative, and out of touch with modern sensibilities. People are more likely to latch onto concepts emphasizing choice, personal discovery, and subjectivity: values often identified with Eastern worldviews and Western practices like yoga, meditation, or energy work.
In order for the Church to speak relevantly into this shifting context, she must welcome cultural diversity and discard the false notion that the only true spirituality is Catholic spirituality. The reception of outsiders must be genuine, hospitable and conscientious, not merely performative and tolerant in name only. Attitudes of openness and exchange, with a willingness to discern where the Spirit is active in both Church and world, will foster a nuanced understanding of the tapestry of beliefs, values and worldviews that make up our contemporary cultural mosaic. This approach to cultural learning will lead to a more mature and wise proclamation of the Gospel and more readily illuminate the unique promise of the Christian vision.
4. Changing Horizons of Happiness
As societies have grown richer and more developed, expectations for human flourishing have expanded along with them. In the past, the mere provision of basic sustenance, shelter and safety met much of humanity’s aspirations. Now,