Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander
“The ‘cultural Christianity’ argument says that atheists might not like Christianity, but they like a culture which depends on Christianity. They like open, free, thoughtful, liberal, beautiful, virtuous societies. Unmoored from a connection to Christanity, a society will gradually have less of those goods, until even atheists are unhappy. Therefore (continues the argument), atheists should be cultural Christians. While they can continue to privately disbelieve, they should support an overall Christian society, which they can dwell contentedly on the fringes of. … the Cultural Christianity argument hinges on the proposition that all liberal societies without Christianity will eventually collapse into wokeness and postmodernism. But Christianity also eventually collapsed into wokeness and postmodernism. So if they’re both equally doomed, why not at least be truthful by advocating for the virtuous liberal society I wanted in the first place?” (10/03/24)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/against-the-cultural-christianity