The Secularization of America as a Cautionary Tale for Africa
In 1991, James Davison Hunter wrote a book called Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America. In the book, Hunter argued that the United States was becoming increasingly polarized between two opposing cultures: The Conservative Culture, which was more traditional and more religious in its values, and the Progressive Culture, which was more secular and liberal in its values.
You don’t have to be a keen student of History to see that Christian values played a very prominent role in the development of Western Civilization. Actually, for most of its existence, Western Culture and Christianity have been synonymous with each other. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the dominant force in Europe was the Church. Christianity guided the course of philosophy, music, art, literature and even science. Many universities, schools, seminaries and hospitals were founded by the Church. In fact, it could be said that Christianity created the very basis of the Western System of education. The Church was also deeply involved with Social Welfare. Christian institutions routinely cared for orphans and widows. They founded orphanages and fought against the abandonment of unwanted children.
When the Europeans came to America and founded a new nation, they were very clearly being guided by Christian Principles. Consider the words of John Adams, the man who became the second President of the United States, “The Christian Religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.” (From The Works of John Adams by Charles Francis Adams). Benjamin Franklin who was also one of the founding fathers had this to say, “I think the system of morals and religion (that) He (Jesus) left us, (is) the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.” (From The Works of Benjamin Franklin by John Bigelow). There is little doubt that the principles guided the creation of the United States were Christian.
As we have moved from the 20th to the 21st century, there is clear evidence that American culture has decoupled from its Christian foundations.
In the 1960s, there was a social and cultural movement known as the sexual revolution. It was part of a counter-culture movement that rejected traditional values and norms. The result was a more liberalized attitude towards sex and morality in the United States and other Western countries. These are some of the things that took place during the Sexual Revolution:
- There was an introduction of the birth control pill, which made it easier for people to have sex without worrying about pregnancies.
- There was an increase in the number of people who were having premarital sex.
- There was a decline in the number of people who got married. The marriage rate in the United States actually peaked in 1964 and has been declining ever since.
- There was an increase in the number of people who were having children outside of marriage.
- There was a rise in radical feminism where traditional gender roles especially for women were increasingly being rejected.
- There was an increase in the acceptance of same sex relationships. This was the beginning of the gay rights movement.
- There was a change in laws. Abortion was legalized and homosexuality decriminalized.
- The media began showing more sexually explicit TV programs and movies. The music industry also joined in promoting more explicitly sexual content.
Happening at the same time as the sexual revolution was the women’s liberation movement. While it gave women a greater voice in society, many also used it to challenge traditional Christian values, which emphasized the traditional role of women as wives and mothers. The result of this is that many people began viewing Christians and Christianity as oppressive. In trying to be more progressive, many rejected the very values and principles that had brought so much success to Western Civilization. The General Social Survey has been asking Americans about God since 1988. For the longest time, the survey showed that between 60 and 70 percent believe in the existence of God. As of 2018 however, the number has dropped to about 30 and 40 percent.
The reason why this information is important is because American culture has had and continues to have a significant influence on Africa. American music and film for example are hugely popular in Africa. The current form of governance being practiced by many African States have been modeled on democratic ideals that are American. There are many American NGOs, American Businesses and other American Institutions that have a heavy presence in Africa. They affect policy making at the highest levels through funding and lobbying. A more secularized America will invariably influence Africa to be more secularized.
Keen observers of society will tell you that secularization has an overall negative effect. People tend to be more aggressive, lonely, selfish, less loving, less compassionate and more suicidal. Divorce rates go high and the family unit, which is the basic building block of strong societies, generally fails. A society that has no central moral code is a chaotic one. A post truth society where anything can be true as long as you wish it be so cannot stand. Taking all this into consideration, Africa would do well to stick to its more conservative values. The continent must therefore resist any attempts by western actors who would want to covertly and sometimes overtly introduce their brand of secularization.
