{"id":572,"date":"2024-04-15T14:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T18:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=572"},"modified":"2024-04-16T16:47:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:47:04","slug":"christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Richard Dawkins speaks at Fronteiras do Pensamento S\u00e3o Paulo. Fronteiras do Pensamento<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified as a \u201ccultural Christian.\u201d His comments also drew fire from several atheists.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichard Dawkins is admiring and eating the fruit of Christianity,” the conservative Aquila Report<\/em> said in an article posted April 9. “He\u00a0is happily tasting the sweetness and embracing the aromas and feeling the textures of the fruit, but he still denies the reality of the living tree from which the fruit has grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

British author and historian Tom Holland also criticized Dawkins, saying the evolutionary biologist is \u201csitting on the branch he\u2019s been sawing through and gazing nervously at the ground far below\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawkins Explains<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The latest controversy involving Dawkins began after the LBC (London Broadcasting Co.) released an interview with him on March 31. Dawkins told LBC that he isn\u2019t a believing Christian, but he was \u201chorrified\u201d when London celebrated Ramadan rather than Easter this year.<\/p>\n

Dawkins said he believes Christianity is \u201ca fundamentally decent religion (\u2026) in a way that Islam is not. He cited Islam\u2019s \u201cactive hostility to women.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also told the LBC that he doesn\u2019t believe one word of Christianity but prefers to live in a culturally Christian country. \u201cI\u2019m a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends are cultural Jews or cultural Muslims,\u201d he has previously said. \u201cI would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches\u201d in the UK.<\/p>\n

The Christian Network Europe News (CNE) quoted Dawkins as saying, \u201cIf I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I\u2019d choose Christianity every single time\u2026.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI love hymns and Christmas carols, and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos,\u201d he explained. \u201cI feel we are a \u2018Christian\u2019 country in that sense,\u201d according to the National Catholic Register <\/em>and other media outlets.<\/p>\n

Four Horsemen of New Atheism<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dawkins has authored several books including The God Illusion.<\/u> In this best seller, he argues against the existence of God and says belief in a personal god is delusional.<\/p>\n

He also is one of the so-called four horsemen of the New Atheism, <\/em>along with authors Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. The four men published several critically acclaimed books that heavily criticized religion and promoted atheism between 2004 and 2007.<\/p>\n

An Admitted Mistake?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Christian website Breakpoint proposed that in the March interview, Dawkins admitted he has been wrong about at least one point: Science and secularism are not the source of everything good in Western culture, as he has claimed for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, it is the worldview centered on God who became man and died on a cross because He \u2018so loved the world\u2019 that is the source of hospitals, churches, esteem for women and children, human rights, and even the music, art, and culture that Dawkins cherishes,\u201d Breakpoint continued. \u201cFor one of the world\u2019s most outspoken God-haters to realize this is quite remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 83-year-old Dawkins has targeted the Christian faith many times over the years, but he also has been critical of other religions such as Islam. In 2018, he cautioned that we shouldn\u2019t celebrate the decline of Christianity in Europe \u201cfor fear of finding something worse,\u201d namely Islam.<\/p>\n

Dawkins has called Islam the most dangerous religion in the world. He also has said Christianity is more compatible with British values than Islam, especially in its treatment of gays and women.<\/p>\n

Cultural Christianity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, what is a cultural Christian?<\/p>\n

\u201cA cultural Christian is someone who has some connection to Christianity (perhaps because he or she was raised in a \u201cChristian home\u201d) but is only loosely connected to the Church and Christ today,\u201d explained the multi-faith platform Patheos<\/a>. Patheos is an online religion resource that provides information on the Bible and other holy texts.<\/p>\n

Patheos explained, \u201cThe cultural Christian may or may not attend Church; but upbringing, family traditions (or practices), or his or her social circle might keep the cultural Christian in a sort of \u201cChristian orbit\u201d\u2014even if Jesus is not the \u201ccenter\u201d of that person\u2019s own life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its post on cultural Christianity, Patheos brought up Dawkins. “He sees himself as a \u201ccultural Christian\u201d\u2014striving to live a moral lifestyle akin to what Jesus taught His followers to live; though Dawkins does not believe in the divinity of Jesus and may even question the historicity of Jesus.”<\/p>\n

Dangers of Cultural Christianity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In an article for The Christian Post<\/em>, evangelical scholar and author Marlon De Blasio took aim at cultural Christianity. According to De Blasio, one danger of cultural Christianity is that it \u201ccan freely reinterpret the Christian faith to accommodate cultural trends one day, another tomorrow, and yet another next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what was the point of the world\u2019s most famous atheist when he recently complained about the decline of \u2018cultural Christianity\u2019 in the UK?\u201d De Blasio asked. \u201cIn the midst of raging cultural wars, it\u2019s necessary to highlight how attempts to undermine a Christian\u2019s faith are intellectually disordered.”<\/p>\n

De Blasio explained that the gospel offers grace, forgiveness, and a real personal relationship with God. \u201cSkepticism does not engage in serious orderly conversation but seeks mostly to annoy by sarcastic rhetoric. Christian claims are nitpicked and disordered with intent to disable their potency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollowing Out Christianity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Christian writer Rod Dreher criticized the evolutionary biologist for saying he is glad Christianity is declining. Dreher likened Dawkins to \u201ca seemingly intelligent man (who) says he greatly enjoys eating but is also glad that farms in his country are closing and that gardens are not being planted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rod
Rod Dreher, 9th of March, 2018, Danube Institute Budapest, Central Europe.Elekes Andor<\/a>, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And Christianity Toda<\/em>y cautioned that Dawkins poses more dangers as a cultural Christian than as an intractable atheist. \u201cRichard Dawkins\u2019s cultural \u2018Christianity\u2019 could hollow out our faith far more efficiently than straightforward attacks,\u201d the online publication said in a post titled \u201cNew Atheism Finally Learns How to Destroy Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Christianity Today<\/em> argued that cultural Christianity \u201chollows out the true core of the faith. True Christianity is not about a national identity or social cohesion, but about \u2018a new birth, a renewing of the mind, a union with the living Christ,\u201d said editor-in-chief Russell Moore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe devil is smart enough to use hollow, cultural Christianity to make us atheists in the long run, to realize that the best way to take down a cross is to replace it with a culture, a crown, or a cathedral \u2013 or a Christmas tree,\u201d Moore added.<\/p>\n

British author and theologian Theo Hobson noted that there would be no Christian culture without numerous committed Christians. And John Heathershaw, a Christian and professor of international relations at the University of Exeter, said \u201cChristians should focus on witnessing about Jesus Christ in a secular society.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The fruit of Christianity, the ethics and architecture, the music and its role in shaping political theory and the marketplace, all have an origin story in the Bible and especially in the God-Man Jesus Christ,” according to The Aquila Report.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The fruit comes from somewhere and that somewhere is more audacious and stunning than 21st<\/sup> Century observers realize.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Fire from Atheists<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Friendly Atheist, <\/em>an online site focused on religion and politics, also criticized Dawkins. However, its emphasis was his belief that Christianity is better than Islam.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Dawkins’s) comments continue an irresponsible pattern of demonizing one religion while celebrating the one he grew up with,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n

And several people who commented on The Friendly Atheist<\/em> article also focused on that issue rather than Dawkins\u2019s comments about being a cultural Christian.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is one (religion) better than the other? Because he\u2019s used to the former (Christianity),\u201d one person asked.<\/p>\n

However, another had questions: \u201cFundamentally decent? Christianity? Has Dawkins read the Bible?\u201d<\/p>\n

And another posed this argument: \u201cAtheism is not a religion with a hierarchy. Dawkins is not the pope of atheism. I don\u2019t give a flying **** what his opinion on Christianity is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified as a \u201ccultural Christian.\u201d His comments also drew fire from several atheists. \u201cRichard Dawkins is admiring and eating the fruit of Christianity,” the conservative Aquila Report said in an article posted April 9. “He\u00a0is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":689,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[128,131,125],"class_list":["post-572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news","tag-atheism","tag-cultural-christian","tag-richard-dawkins"],"yoast_head":"\nChristians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Latest News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-15T18:02:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-16T20:47:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/04\/Rod_Dreher-243x350.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ginny Baxter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian'","description":"Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian'","og_description":"Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/","og_site_name":"Latest News","article_published_time":"2024-04-15T18:02:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-16T20:47:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/04\/Rod_Dreher-243x350.jpeg"}],"author":"Ginny Baxter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/","name":"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian'","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/04\/Rod_Dreher-243x350.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-04-15T18:02:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-16T20:47:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7"},"description":"Well-known atheist, Oxford biologist and author Richard Dawkins is under fire from Christian authors and media outlets after he recently identified","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/04\/Rod_Dreher-243x350.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/04\/Rod_Dreher-243x350.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/04\/15\/christians-atheists-react-to-dawkins-identifying-as-a-cultural-christian\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christians, Atheists React to Dawkins Identifying as a \u2018Cultural Christian’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/","name":"Latest News","description":"Online Christian news with the latest headlines relevant to Christians. New stories updated daily from a Christian perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7","name":"Ginny Baxter","description":"Ginny Baxter is a former journalist and public relations professional whose passion is writing. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, Ginny majored in English with a focus on journalism. She later studied public relations at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She comes from a Christian family and has been an active church member since childhood. You can read her Patheos column Woman to Woman here.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/author\/ginnybaxter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":677,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions\/677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}