Poet and playwright T.S. Eliot was right in stating that Western culture would not long survive the disappearance of Christianity. This is because Western civilization did not develop apart from Christianity but was shaped by it over centuries. Christianity has a sanctifying effect on culture—its influence does not bring instant, complete transformation but, over time, heals injustices, restrains evil, and promotes what is good.
No other civilization has been so deeply formed and refined by the Christian faith as the West. As a result, Western nations have become the most sought-after places of residence worldwide. The long lines of foreigners at their gates testify to the undeniable prosperity, freedom, and opportunity that Christian influence has cultivated.
From the values that shape our personal moral frameworks to the institutions that support education, healthcare, and human rights, many of the things we take for granted today owe their existence to Christianity. Concepts such as equality, marriage, forgiveness, along with the rule of law, the abolition of the slave trade, scientific pursuits, education, social cohesion, charity, justice, adoption, liberty of conscience, and family values are all deeply rooted in Christianity.
In recent years, perhaps due to nefarious influences, politicians and elites in the Western world have sought to undermine the goodness of Western culture by promoting the novel concept of “multiculturalism.” Its proponents claim that the goal is “diversity in harmony,” yet they rarely articulate what unites these diverse—and often contradictory—cultures.
What is the unifying principle, and how can we ensure that all participants are equally committed? Doesn’t the very concept of multiculturalism require all parties to share a common objective? Yet, when we look at cultures around the world, that’s not what we observe. Even within “multicultural” Western nations, we see significant portions of communities naturally forming cultural ghettos, often hostile to other cultures.
When a large number of foreigners are introduced, the problems are only compounded, because assimilation, which can be a difficult process for some, becomes unnecessary. What we’re likely to witness is not a “harmonious society,” where everyone suddenly embraces the commitment to “multiculturalism,” but a fractured one—essentially, nations within nations.
Ultimately, “multiculturalism” is a unicultural phenomenon. That’s why any “top ten” list of multicultural countries will be largely dominated by Weston nations, such as Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, and the United States. It’s for this very reason a state Premier in Australia is pushing for stricter speech laws, because Australia’s multicultural community is, he admits, too “fragile” to allow citizens the “privilege” of speaking freely.
But if multiculturalism comes at the price of one’s freedom to speak, is it really worth it in the end? Not because we want to arbitrarily assert cultural or religious supremacy, but because we genuinely want what’s best for everyone.
If one culture clearly upholds what is good and just more than others, then adherence to multiculturalism or moral relativism inevitably compromises the pursuit of goodness and justice.
While politicians may feign virtue by promoting diversity in harmony, they ultimately refuse to acknowledge what many have recognized for decades: Western civilization, rooted in the Christian religion, has been one of the greatest forces for good in history.
Our commitment should not be to diversity for its own sake, as diversity holds no inherent or necessary good. Rather, we must be dedicated to goodness, human flourishing, and justice for all. This demands recognizing the fact that when Christianity meets the West, the world is at its best.
But since multiculturalism is a uniquely Western phenomenon, embraced solely by modern Western politicians and elites, what happens when Westerners become a minority in their own multicultural societies?
Unless other cultures—many of which are indifferent or opposed to the multicultural ideal—quickly adopt the moral relativism infecting the West, Western civilization will inevitably collapse.
Once Westerners are no longer the majority, the West and its misguided commitment to multiculturalism will cease to exist. What culture will rise to replace it, and will it uphold the same ideals of goodness and justice that Western civilization once did?
Look around the world and ask yourself which country and culture you’d want to raise your children in. That is what we could likely end up with. In the end, if we lose sight of the values that shaped the West, we risk forfeiting the very freedoms and prosperity that have not only defined the greatest civilization in known history but also the most powerful force for good.
