Family and Faith in a Pagan Time

Introduction to Mary Eberstadt

  • Mary Eberstadt is an essayist, novelist, and author known for several influential works of nonfiction.

  • Recommended books include:
      - How the West Really Lost God
      - New Theory of Secularization
      - It's Dangerous to Believe
      - Adam and Eve After the Pill
      - Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution
      - Home Alone in America

  • She has also written a novel titled The Loser Letters, a comic tale involving life, death, and atheism, which has been adapted for the stage.

  • Authored the anthology Why I Turned Right, chronicling the political journeys of Baby Boom conservatives.

  • Regular contributor to various magazines and journals, including:
      - Time
      - The Wall Street Journal
      - National Review
      - The Weekly Standard
      - First Things

  • Served as editor for Public Interest, National Interest, and Policy Review.

  • Has been associated with think tanks, including the Hoover Institution and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

  • Founded the Kirkpatrick Society, a literary organization aimed at mentoring writers.

  • Previous roles include:
      - Member of the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. State Department (1985-1987)
      - Speechwriter for former Secretary of State George Shultz
      - Special assistant to Jean Kirkpatrick at the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

  • Achievements include being a four-year Telluride Scholar at Cornell University, graduating magna cum laude.

  • Married to demographer Nicholas Eberstadt; they have four children.

Main Themes and Arguments

  • The presentation given by Eberstadt discusses significant changes in Western civilization amidst a perceived hostility towards organized religion.

  • She reflects on current cultural and political turmoil characterized by anger, defiance, and repudiation of Judeo-Christian values.

  • The feeling amongst many regarding a civilizational shift is examined, particularly the impacts on belief in God and traditional religion which now seem to require validation.

Observations on the Current Climate

  • Illustrates the landscape of increasing hostility towards Christianity:
      - High-profile Christian colleges face accreditation threats (e.g., King's College and Gordon College).
      - Adverse views about Christian institutions related to tax status.
      - Christian homeschooling faces challenges legislatively.
      - Traditional family values are under legal attack, appearing as a menace to societal progress.
      - In popular culture, practicing Christians are often depicted negatively (examples: The Book of Mormon, compared to works celebrating secular themes).

Terminology of Current Era

  • Eberstadt challenges the term post-Christian to describe modern culture, arguing it implies a linear progression from religion to secularism as something societies naturally evolve through.

  • Proposes instead terms like American Babylon and the Benedict Option to characterize the current situation in which traditional believers are viewed as outsiders.

  • References thinkers like George Weigel and Archbishop Charles Chaput, discussing the need for a new awakening and the relevance of the Exodus analogy in today's sociocultural context.

Thesis Statement

  • Eberstadt asserts two main points:
      - The era is marked by paganization, where modern pagan ideology increasingly opposes Christianity.
      - The discourse includes an emphasis on the family and how its disintegration fuels the rise of modern paganism.

Characteristics of New Paganism

  1. Antipathy Towards Religion
       - Distinction wherein today’s secularism is not merely a lack of belief but an established belief system that actively opposes organized religion.
       - The evidence showing a rising trend of atheists and ‘nones’ may misinterpret secularism without accounting for rival faith structures at play.
       

  2. Emergence of a Rival Faith
       - Anti-Christian sentiment is akin to religious zeal, with movements often embodying elements of a faith system.
       - Examples of religious ecstasy in secular movements, such as the reaction to abortion rulings.
       - Religious rites applied to political actions in movements such as women’s rights, illustrating a replacement of scripture with secular ideologies.
       

  3. Denial of Gender Distinctions
       - The evolving narrative towards androgyny and how gender differences are being overlooked, influenced by cultural pressures.
       - Examines societal shifts leading to changes in gender roles influenced by family dynamics, with potential ramifications on perceptions of masculinity and femininity.
       

  4. Vindictiveness and Absolutism
       - Rise in legal cases against religious expression, illustrating intolerance and a climate against religious freedoms.
       - Documented erosion of religious liberty in institutional settings across the Western world, indicating a pronounced aggression towards traditional views.

Causal Relationships

  • Argues a two-way street between family structural changes and religious decline:
      - Family instability contributes to secularization while loss of religiosity also correlates with diminishing family structures.
      - Evidence shows that children from divorced families exhibit lower levels of religious affiliation (35% compared to 23% from intact families).

Signs of Hope

  1. Historical Perspective
       - Counter to retail historicism, Eberstadt presents history as a cycle where religious and familial vitality revive in phases instead of a linear decline.
       - Cites post-WWII religious revival correlating with an increased marriage and birth rates.
       

  2. Emergence of Counter-Revolutionaries
       - Suggests that from the sexual revolution arise counter movements advocating for traditional values.
       

  3. Demographic Trends Favoring the Religious
       - Demographic realities indicate that more religious individuals tend to have children, forecasting future population shifts favoring religious communities.
       

  4. Historical Resilience of Christianity
       - Christianity’s historical endurance through various societal obstacles reiterates its potential for revival in contemporary settings; lessons from past downturns illustrate possible rejuvenation.

Conclusion

  • Summarizes the entangled relationship between the deterioration of the family and the rise of modern paganism and the implications for faith.

  • Asserts that perspectives on inevitable decline are misleading and emphasizes the need for enduring hope.

  • Concludes with an invitation for conversation.