In The Gay Science (1882), German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously proclaimed the death of God. Recognizing the enormous implications of secularization and the uprooting of Christianity’s “fundamental concept” (faith in God) and the resulting moral confusion, he exclaimed: “God is dead! God remains dead! And we killed him! How do we console ourselves, murderers of murderers?” (book III, section 125).
While it certainly did not emerge with Nietzsche, this notion that faith in God could no longer be the foundation for morality in modern society provided the basis for the gradual secularization of the West. For decades throughout the 20th century, the share of Christians in the population of countries such as the United States, Canada, Britain, and France declined steadily, while the share of people identifying as irreligious rose. In the U.S., their share rose from 5% in 1990 to 30% in 2019. This general trend mostly reflects changes in people’s beliefs: According to Stephanie Kramer of Pew, quoted by The Economist, loss of faith has been the main driver of secularism’s proliferation in the West during the past few decades, much more so than demographic factors such as aging, migration, or fertility. For a while, it appeared that Nietzsche’s recognition was correct. God, if not dead, was no longer needed in the life of an increasing number of Westerners.
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