Post-Christian America? by Gunnar Gundersen

By Gunnar Gundersen, The Catholic Thing, Nov. 16, 2019

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The recent Pew poll detailing the erosion of Christian faith in this country unleashed a slew of commentary discussing “post-Christian” America. And even before this recent round of dire predictions, the term “post-Christian” has been used by various commentators. Notably, it is used by Rod Dreher in the subtitle of his book The Benedict Option. But can a Christian nation ever become really post-Christian?

We tend to discuss the religious state of America the same way we do social fads. Like powdered wigs or VHS, we will just kind of move on – society will just forget. America will experience Christianity fatigue.

But Christianity is not a theory – it is an encounter with a Person – the Alpha and the Omega. Christ is the end of all things. It is not possible to just move on once you have accepted Him.

As Pope Benedict XVI points out in Spe Salvi, a society that rejects Christ does not simply move on. Rather, this kind of society, echoing Kant, must be in opposition to Christ. So instead of post-Christian, a society that has rejected Christianity, must necessarily become anti-Christian: “There is no doubt, therefore, that a ‘Kingdom of God’ accomplished without God – a kingdom therefore of man alone – inevitably ends up as the ‘perverse end’ of all things as described by Kant [reign of the Anti-Christ]: we have seen it, and we see it over and over again.” [23]  …

Read more at https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019/11/16/post-christian-america-2/