Atheist Writer Asserts That True Christianity Is the Key to Saving America

January 7, 2025

A leading atheist writer is arguing that the U.S. needs to more fully embrace Christian values in order to get back on track.

Crosswalk reports that self-identified atheist Jonathan Rauch, author of Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy says that the modern church is failing in its role of representing Jesus.

In an interview on the New York Times Matter of Opinion podcast, Rauch described today’s church as being too secular, too fearful and lacking faith.

Rauch stated, “What really needs to happen to get our country on a better track is for Christianity not to become more secular or more liberal, but to become more like itself, to become more truly Christian.”

He expressed concern that too many Christians have embraced “thin Christianity” or “sharp Christianity,” in which their faith becomes a secularized commodity or where they see their faith increasingly at war with the culture around it.

The solution, according to Rauch, is to embrace what he describes as the “three fundamentals of Christianity,” which include 1) imitating Jesus, 2) not being afraid, and 3) forgiving one another.

Rauch maintains that these fundamentals align with the values of the Founding Fathers who believed that “Christianity is a load-bearing wall in democracy” even if not everyone is a Christian.

Rauch explained that our Constitutional Republic, “relies on virtues like truthfulness and lawfulness and the equal dignity of every individual” and that when the church becomes less Christian, people look for their values elsewhere.

Photo: top, Credit: YouTube/ReasonTV