Cultural Christianity

"Cultural Christian" (also "Secular Christian") is a self-identifying term used by some non-Christians (usually atheists and agnostics), usually to mean that they see Christianity as fundamental to "Western" culture, whatever that means, and thus associate with it.

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Application

The term is variously used by:

  • Secular Islamophobes, to emphasize that they, at minimum, find Christianity preferable to Islam (they rarely reference other religions).
  • Adherents of an even more secularist version of cafeteria Christianity (or, similarly, by atheists or agnostics who want to distinguish themselves from antitheism).
  • Some conservative or neoreactionary non-Christians, to allow the use of carefully-selected Christian moral principles to defend their ideology. Looking at you, Jordan Peterson
  • Good old fashioned anti-Semites, who have no truck with any of that "Judeo-Christian" stuff.
  • White nationalists who wish to cover their racism with a fig leaf of religion.

Richard Dawkins is an odd example in that, despite his frequent lambasting of religion, he uses the terms "cultural Christian"[1] and "secular Christian" to just mean that he was brought up in a Christian culture and occasionally participates in events at his local Church of England[2] — though it also fits Dawkins' less than fond attitude towards Islam (which also means that he thinks that only the Protestant/Catholic conflict should figure as a sort of historical civic culture class).[3]

Since Anders Breivik used it in his manifesto,[4] the usage has shifted more towards the Islamophobic and (somewhat secular) conservative meanings.

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See also

References
  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7136682.stm
  2. “I would describe myself as a secular Christian in the same sense as secular Jews have a feeling for nostalgia and ceremonies.”
  3. Richard Dawkins interview: 'I have a certain love for the Anglican tradition', The Spectator, 14 September 2013. Particularly this bit: "But I think I share your Anglican nostalgia, especially when you look at the competition"; though Dawkins leaves open exactly which competition he means.
  4. http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Is-Anders-Breivik-a-Christian-terrorist-1624540.php
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