Lots of relevant points in here. Example:
Boomer Christians are alarmed and bewildered by a return to the faith of centuries past. They forget that the political priorities of their generation emerged from a very unusual historical moment. Their confident worldview was a gift from a different era. And it will, I fear, die with them.
Boomer Christianity Is Dying Fast
That generation’s political priorities were formed by an unusual historical moment. It’s over now.
ET
A new costume has appeared on the streets of Britain. When activist Danny Thomas staged an anti-immigration protest in the coastal town of Dover earlier this month, roughly 500 men showed up dressed all in black, their faces concealed. The march was peaceful, but the effect was menacing. Many also wore crucifixes. “Christ is King,” they shouted. This call has become common at such protests, as have public prayer, wooden crosses and flags bearing Christian slogans. In a country where only a tiny minority attend church regularly, the use of Christian symbolism is conspicuous.
The combination of crucifixes and nativism at the Dover protest was jarring for Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Anglican bishop of Dover. Speaking to the Telegraph, she condemned the protesters’ behavior as “contrary to the gospel, which speaks of love and being welcoming to all. The crucifix, for heaven’s sake, is a symbol of love, compassion, forgiveness.” To her mind, Mr. Thomas’s cause is inherently at odds with Christianity.
This is a common view among church leaders. Last year, an open letter signed by senior clergy in Britain across a range of denominations condemned the “misuse of Christianity” by anti-immigration activists. Condemnations of xenophobia are often paired with expressions of extreme xenophilia, particularly within the Church of England. Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterbury, chose the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to grant an award for interfaith work to a Muslim cleric who’d praised Osama bin Laden (the award was later withdrawn following public outcry). British churches increasingly host iftar ceremonies during Ramadan, and senior politicians have accused clergy of facilitating bogus asylum petitions by immigrants who falsely claim to have converted to Christianity.
Britain isn’t unique. In the U.S., the leaders of Christian denominations have denounced federal immigration enforcement tactics, and Pope Leo marked the 250th anniversary of American independence with a visit to Lampedusa, an entry point to Europe for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. Leo insisted in a letter published the same day that the U.S. has a duty to welcome immigrants.
This hasn’t always been the view of the Catholic Church. Mr. Thomas and his fellow activists are drawn to the imagery of the crusades. Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade in 1095 to a crowd that responded with cries of “Deus vult” or “God wills it.” That phrase is popular among nativists on social media. Which pope is the greater authority on the gospels, Urban or Leo? I don’t know. But a glance at Christian history shows that the current consensus among church leaders hasn’t always been so. Taking the long view, it is by no means a settled position among Christians that nationalism and militarism are “contrary to the gospel,” as Bishop Hudson-Wilkin put it.
The xenophilic position dominant now emerged from a particular historical moment. Pope Leo and Archbishop Mullally are both baby boomers. So are most senior church leaders: in the U.S., the average Catholic bishop is 65½. The church is led by a generation shaped by a set of unique historical circumstances.
Boomers were born in the immediate aftermath of World War II. During their childhood, the view that the war was caused by a mass psychological disturbance, a runaway process of escalating fear and hate, crystallized into a consensus that has reigned ever since. If we’re to avoid such a disaster again, then the solution must be, as the philosopher Karl Popper termed it, an “open society”—a new culture where openness and tolerance would be prized, and any whiff of fascist tendencies in citizens’ thinking would be immediately suppressed.
The emergence of this open society coincided with a tremendous economic boom. On one income, a young man with a blue collar job was newly able to support a family and enjoy a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. In the world the boomers grew up in, a person who made ordinary choices could expect to live a good life. As long as you didn’t do anything disastrous—become a drug addict, go to prison—you would be OK.
Boomers grew up in a high-trust, religious and family-centric culture cultivated by their parents and grandparents. Progressive members of this generation also got to enjoy the rejection of all that once the 1960s swung into gear. They benefited from the old culture and from its destruction. This is a trick that can only be pulled once.
What emerged was a clear political program for the boomer leadership class: Suffer any expense and inconvenience necessary to avoid reliving the 1930s. “Wir schaffen das,” Angela Merkel said of her decision to open Germany’s borders to millions of refugees: “We can take it.” We are a rich and lucky people, after all, and things always work out.
Except when they don’t. Countries that enjoyed long periods of wealth and stability in the late 20th century are now less wealthy and stable. Young people no longer consider it obvious that a surplus is available to be shared with anyone who makes it to Western shores.
Christians are also subject to intergenerational tension, which is why signs are emerging of a political shift within the church. Young men have been moving rightward in recent decades, even as their female peers have been moving leftward. American Christianity is masculinizing, with young believers skewing male, in contrast to the gender skew in previous generations. This will soon become obvious in leadership positions, at least within the Catholic Church, where younger priests are far more conservative than older ones.
A concentration effect is under way. Religious belief is no longer the default. The secularization process has boiled off the most progressive Christians—and particularly the most progressive young women—leaving the church smaller, more devout and more conservative.
Newsletter Sign-up
Free Expression
Daily perspectives on culture and politics from voices that matter.
When the boomers pass away, and a new generation assumes leadership positions, political change in the church could be rapid. Last week, a leaked video surfaced of a young French military chaplain addressing paratroopers in a cathedral in the south of France. To applause from the servicemen, Fr. Romain Ghandour poured scorn on leftists and warned against those who would “take the place of our values.” Left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon—a baby boomer—accused Fr. Ghandour of “preaching the return of the Crusades” and seemed to call for the priest’s imprisonment. The sermon was indeed closer to that of Pope Urban II than Pope Leo XIV.
Boomer Christians are alarmed and bewildered by a return to the faith of centuries past. They forget that the political priorities of their generation emerged from a very unusual historical moment. Their confident worldview was a gift from a different era. And it will, I fear, die with them.
Ms. Perry is a Free Expression columnist at WSJ Opinion.
