In Defense of Cultural Christianity

More than two centuries ago, Søren Kierkegaard attacked the established church of his native Denmark. He denounced it for encouraging outward “Christian” behavior rather than authentic belief. People identified as Christian out of a desire for social respectability, and the pressure to conform produced complacent, ­inauthentic Christians. “Where all are Christians,” ­argues Kierkegaard in Attack Upon Christendom, “the situation is this: to call oneself a Christian is the means whereby one secures oneself against all sorts of inconveniences and discomforts, and the means whereby one secures worldly goods, comforts, profits, etc., etc.” Christianity becomes a “game” one “play[s].” Rather than marking its triumph, “Christendom” midwifes Christianity’s demise.