The Western world was the center of Christian civilization for centuries. Missionaries were sent around the world from places like Great Britain and America in the late 1700s and 1800s. Men like Hudson Taylor and CT Studd left everything to go out to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel to the nations. The missionary movement has continued for the last two centuries, with people like Eric Liddle, Lottie Moon and many others continuing this great missionary tradition.
However, as the Western world has slowly moved away from its Christian foundation and become more secular, the passion and enthusiasm for the Christian mission has disappeared in many circles. It has instead been replaced by other causes. The younger generations today, specifically Gen Z and younger Millennials, are generations that are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives. Earlier generations in the West found this purpose through religious devotion, pursuing God’s purpose in their lives. In contrast, these two generations, much of which are comprised of an increase in what has been called the nones (no religious affiliation) which is just another way of saying they are secularists, are searching for purpose and meaning in other places outside of the church.
Many are finding other places to fulfill this meaning and purpose through activism, either politically or socially. This activism really began to take off in the mid 2010’s with a focus on Global Warming/Climate Change. For example, Greta Thunberg became a worldwide celebrity as a small child because she became a climate activist. This expanded during the mid-2010s with the LGBT protests and activism during the second Obama term and the Trump Administration. This activism continued during the summer of 2020, when young people throughout the nation went to the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Today, this activism continues with both the “Free Palestine” protests as well as the abortion protests, specifically in the US.
Many have noticed that a lot of the same people have been involved in all of these protests. Some of this comes from the predominately liberal academic institutions throughout the West that have been pushing both secularism and activism for several decades. It is no surprise when these protests begin, the universities are some of the first places to become activist hotbeds. While universities have certainly played a role, social media platforms, such as Tick Toc and Instagram also have played a crucial role in building this activism mindset into these generations.
The question that arises is why is this occurring now? The answer may be very simple. When religious conviction is denied or lost, people do not simply stop looking to fill that hole in their lives. Instead, they look to find something to “fill that hole” in their lives. Because they have no religious affiliation, they have turned to activism to replace their religious convictions. This is why many of these activists just move from one movement to the next, even if the movements themselves do not connect. It has become their religion and their purpose. They have turned from God to activism.
Biblical Connections: In Romans 1:24-25, Paul wrote, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Paul understood when people reject God, they try to fill that hole with paganism, sinful lusts including homosexuality and worshipping God’s creation instead of God. It should not surprise us then that many of these activists movements that are secularly driven mix in occultism, are LGBT affirming and in many ways worship the environment.
PRAY: Pray that this drift away from God in the West would change and that revival would break forth to move the West back to its Christian roots.