I have tended to think of cultural Christians as ones who claim the faith but don't practice it. I think a lot of this probably comes from the term cultural Catholic, which distinguishes Catholics who call themselves Catholic but rarely (if ever) go to church and may or may not believe from Catholics who are more observant. Cultural Catholics engage in some Catholic culture (esp. holiday traditions), but are not necessarily believing or otherwise observant.
Your alternative way of using the term cultural Christians in the intro (and the book overall) opened my eyes to a different way of thinking: thinking about how belonging to the wider culture affects a person's Christianity. I love this reframing, which challenged me to think about the interplay between religious practice & belief and wider culture in new ways!
Yes! We have this ideal in mind of Christians who know that we are called to be apart from the world and we just, you know, live out this calling. The reality is: you can't just muscle your way to the ideal balance of in-the-world-but-not-of-it. I love how Chris Shannon has described culture as "second-hand smoke." We think we know where we stand, how to be counter-cultural in our faith walk, etc. But the second-hand smoke analogy reminds that when we live in a particular environment, we can't tell this quite so easily.
It's humbling to think that we're not as aware of everything that influences us as believers, everything that calls us into the world and away from Christ. Realizing that we don't always know ways in which we may be cultural Christians strips away our illusion of control. So I love, because of this, that in confessions of sin, Christians often mention their sorrow (and plea for God's forgiveness) not only for sins of which they are aware, but also for sins of which they are not aware.
I think of a cultural Christian as one who attends church regularly but places cultural-political issues as the operating identity in that person's life. For example, some progressive Christians may believe that issues such as abortion and sexual activity outside of marriage are acceptable. Conservative Christians may have a cultural-political identity that sees some politicians acting as messiahs and programs to help the poor as left wing communism. I have had one sister and brother-in law who generally were accepting of some moral isssues forbidden by Scripture. I have numerous close friends who do not favor most governmental programs which aid the poor and oppose tax increases that might provide funding for governmental services. I believe that those who oppose faithful Christian homeschooling and support for faithful Christian schools as their enemies are cultural Christians
Thank you Nadya for your book and invitation to comment on "cultural Christians". Originally, coming from a Scottish home where religion was not really an important part of life, per se, but was acknowledged historically, meant it was 'there' (for me) without context. Only later, when the LORD 'found me' as an adult was the term 'Christianity' personalized (April 1987). I quickly became aware of western religious dualism through 'church language' and the term that brings us to our topic, namely, "cultural Christians" (or in UK: "worldly Christians"). Moving from being a 'happy pagan' to a 'happy Christian' was not my doing. Limited church context and Religious Education (RE) in high school met deaf ears. How I might define the term "cultural Christian"? It depends on the country and culture in which one lives. From experience, we know there to be differences between Eastern and Western cultures: U.K., American, and European cultures. IN my own context, I lived in Iran and the Middle East at one point as a boy; so I think about that time as 'white' = West = Christian vs. Darker melanin = East = Muslim). Thinking more broadly for Asian and ANE cultures, they too have religious faith within their cultures. Notwithstanding, cultural expressions vary within East/West culture groups. Culture depends what skin-you're-in. Lastly, the term "cultural Christian"--at least what we hear in the west (USA/UK)--carries a more negative connotation, doesn't it?
I have tended to think of cultural Christians as ones who claim the faith but don't practice it. I think a lot of this probably comes from the term cultural Catholic, which distinguishes Catholics who call themselves Catholic but rarely (if ever) go to church and may or may not believe from Catholics who are more observant. Cultural Catholics engage in some Catholic culture (esp. holiday traditions), but are not necessarily believing or otherwise observant.
Your alternative way of using the term cultural Christians in the intro (and the book overall) opened my eyes to a different way of thinking: thinking about how belonging to the wider culture affects a person's Christianity. I love this reframing, which challenged me to think about the interplay between religious practice & belief and wider culture in new ways!
Yes! We have this ideal in mind of Christians who know that we are called to be apart from the world and we just, you know, live out this calling. The reality is: you can't just muscle your way to the ideal balance of in-the-world-but-not-of-it. I love how Chris Shannon has described culture as "second-hand smoke." We think we know where we stand, how to be counter-cultural in our faith walk, etc. But the second-hand smoke analogy reminds that when we live in a particular environment, we can't tell this quite so easily.
It's humbling to think that we're not as aware of everything that influences us as believers, everything that calls us into the world and away from Christ. Realizing that we don't always know ways in which we may be cultural Christians strips away our illusion of control. So I love, because of this, that in confessions of sin, Christians often mention their sorrow (and plea for God's forgiveness) not only for sins of which they are aware, but also for sins of which they are not aware.
And sins of omission! I love that in the Confiteor: "for what I have done, and for what I have failed to do..."
I think of a cultural Christian as one who attends church regularly but places cultural-political issues as the operating identity in that person's life. For example, some progressive Christians may believe that issues such as abortion and sexual activity outside of marriage are acceptable. Conservative Christians may have a cultural-political identity that sees some politicians acting as messiahs and programs to help the poor as left wing communism. I have had one sister and brother-in law who generally were accepting of some moral isssues forbidden by Scripture. I have numerous close friends who do not favor most governmental programs which aid the poor and oppose tax increases that might provide funding for governmental services. I believe that those who oppose faithful Christian homeschooling and support for faithful Christian schools as their enemies are cultural Christians
John C. Gardner
Thank you Nadya for your book and invitation to comment on "cultural Christians". Originally, coming from a Scottish home where religion was not really an important part of life, per se, but was acknowledged historically, meant it was 'there' (for me) without context. Only later, when the LORD 'found me' as an adult was the term 'Christianity' personalized (April 1987). I quickly became aware of western religious dualism through 'church language' and the term that brings us to our topic, namely, "cultural Christians" (or in UK: "worldly Christians"). Moving from being a 'happy pagan' to a 'happy Christian' was not my doing. Limited church context and Religious Education (RE) in high school met deaf ears. How I might define the term "cultural Christian"? It depends on the country and culture in which one lives. From experience, we know there to be differences between Eastern and Western cultures: U.K., American, and European cultures. IN my own context, I lived in Iran and the Middle East at one point as a boy; so I think about that time as 'white' = West = Christian vs. Darker melanin = East = Muslim). Thinking more broadly for Asian and ANE cultures, they too have religious faith within their cultures. Notwithstanding, cultural expressions vary within East/West culture groups. Culture depends what skin-you're-in. Lastly, the term "cultural Christian"--at least what we hear in the west (USA/UK)--carries a more negative connotation, doesn't it?