In a 2022 essay in First Things and a follow-up 2024 book titled Life in theNegative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture, evangelical writer and consultant Aaron Renn laid out a new chronological framework for understanding the cultural shift in the United States:
Positive World (1964-1994). Society at large retains a mostly positive view of Christianity. To be known as a good, churchgoing man or woman remains part of being an upstanding citizen in society. Publicly being a Christian enhances social status. Christian moral norms are still the basic moral norms of society, and violating them can lead to negative consequences.
Neutral World (1994-2014). Society takes a neutral stance toward Christianity. Christianity no longer has privileged status, nor is it disfavored. Being publicly known as a Christian has neither a positive nor negative impact on social status. Christianity is one valid option among many within a pluralistic, multicultural public square. Christian moral norms retain some residual effect.
Negative World (2014-Present). In this era, society has an overall negative view of Christianity. Being known as a Christian is a social negative, particularly in the higher status domains of society. Christian morality is expressly repudiated and now seen as a threat to the public good and the new public moral order. Holding to Christian moral views, publicly affirming the teachings of the Bible, or violating the new secular moral order can lead to negative consequences.
In his book–which is a practical handbook for Christians in “Negative World”–Renn lays out strategies for how Christians can build anti-fragile communities and survive as our culture becomes increasingly anti-Christian. He joined me to discuss it the book. For those interested, I also reviewed his book for The European Conservative.
For those interested in subscribing to these conversations—and we have a number of fantastic discussions recorded and scheduled—you can listen on any of these platforms:
