Discipleship, Outreach

Witnessing the Decline of Cultural Christianity in Britain

Posted January 6, 2012.

We just got back from a trip to England, visiting extended family. Travelling around England would cause any North American Believer to reflect a lot on church history. It’s fairly common for an outsider to tour Britain or Europe and say, “I love all the old architecture!” They stand in awe of the churches and cathedrals.

This was true for me, that these buildings (works of art designed for worship), stirred up a lot of deep contemplation. As we drove or took trains through cities and towns, and over the English countryside; every once in a while my eye would catch a steeple erected out of an ancient-looking stone parish.

Each time, I thought about the thousands of people who have walked through those church doors over the years. Lord willing, most of whom are now in heaven. The signs of their Christian culture and tradition have been sustained and preserved on and within these historic structures, but the hearts of their children and grand-children have seemingly moved consistently toward secularism.

Christianity is disappearing in the UK.

Christian culture has definitely not been sustained and preserved like the churches and cathedrals have. After spending some time in British culture, my perspective is that England is definitely showing the signs of a people who are caring less about God nor the church.

Don’t get me wrong; my goal is not to bring offence to anyone who waves the English flag. I just mean to shed some light on the fact that the United Kingdom, year by year, is moving away from its heritage of being one of the most Christ-centred nations in the world. Slowly but surely, it is consumed with pegan and secular ideology, and a plethora of false religions.

Great Britain was once a Christian nation.

The United Kingdom was never perfect; let’s get that out of the way. (If you’re Left-leaning, you may have already jumped to colonialism.) Despite the sin that can be found in British history, we can’t ignore that thousands of pastors and prophets, preachers and teachers from throughout the UK evangelized the world. These missionaries sacrificed massive amounts of resources to see Christ proclaimed everywhere.

This is, of course, a shocking comparison to today, as many of the same churches who sent missionaries are struggling to reach their own people. Statistics would show that this trend is happening throughout the Western world. Yet, the culture that I experienced over the past two weeks in England is a little further down the line of secularism.

Much prayer is needed for the Church in Great Britain!

The following clip is an interesting news report on Britain’s shrinking Christian culture. CAVEAT that I wasn’t impressed with the war terminology that the report seems to indicate. Nevertheless, if you can see past that, it is fitting in relation to what I the UK is experiencing.

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

  • Will North America follow Britain’s decline in Christian culture?
  • How has it begun in Canada and the United States?
  • What signs do you see that cultural Christianity is over in Western society?

2 thoughts on “Witnessing the Decline of Cultural Christianity in Britain

  1. Hey,
    Brilliant Article, What a great site. i am so glad to see such interest in Christian art and uplifting through the visual senses. thanks for sharing with us.

  2. Thanks for your comment Tim! I trust that by ‘Christian art’, you mean my appreciation for old church stone and glass work? Living in Alaska, we have no historic buildings at all. Other than some relics left over from the gold rush years, but no permanent, preserved stone buildings from ancient days. Thanks again for your support!

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