If Christianity Goes, the Whole Culture Goes

In his essay, The Idea of a Christian Society, published in 1940, T.S. Eliot (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965), a distinguished poet, essayist, and playwright offered a much-needed reminder that the preservation of Western culture, and all the good that comes with it, depends on our commitment to the Christian faith.

Eliot writes:

“It is in Christianity that our arts have developed; it is in Christianity that the laws of Europe—until recently—have been rooted. It is against a background of Christianity that all of our thought has significance.

“An individual European may not believe that the Christian faith is true, and yet what he says, and makes, and does will all spring out of his heritage of Christian culture and depend upon that culture for its meaning…

“I do not believe that culture of Europe could survive the complete disappearance of the Christian faith. And I am convinced of that, not merely because I am a Christian myself, but as a student of social biology.

“If Christianity goes, the whole culture goes.”