Being Christian After Christendom: Where Are We? How Did We Get Here? What Went Wrong? What Is the Solution?

by David Rietveld, Stuart Piggin (Foreword)

The social landscape has radically changed over the past fifty years. Christians were once respected, sought out, and trusted. Now we are blamed, marginalized, and viewed with suspicion. In this book, David Rietveld explains what, how, and why this has happened, in a way that the average person can understand. He begins with Christendom, where both Christians and non-Christian held shared beliefs and values. He explains the church's role, and how evangelism and discipleship worked in that era. He then tracks the changes that have occurred and clarifies what and why things are now different. Insightful, broad explanations are illustrated by real-life examples, and woven together so that readers can see the patterns in the new twenty-first-century Western landscape. If you are seeking a thoughtful overview of what is going on in our world and how this relates to being a Christian in a local church, this book is a great introduction.

286 pages, Hardcover

Published April 12, 2023

Reviews

[Steve Frederick]

One of the more worthwhile “how did we end up here” books exploring how we ended up in a post-Christian world. It relies less on selling a complicated socio-historical genealogy than many similar books, which to my mind is a plus. But like many similar books I still suspect it frames “expressive individualism” as being more central than it really is. At least the way expressive individualism is described often sounds more like a core value or central tenet, rather than the default fall-back position I suspect it is.
The book is framed around four key questions.
1. Where are we?
2. How did we get here?
3. What went wrong?
4. What is the solution?

I found the aspects that dwelled on “where are we?” Strongest. Along with this came some helpful clarifications as to why some of our “business as usual” approaches are struggling.
One strength is the generally “non-anxious” tone to the book that is not panicked at the thought that *we* might not be able to “fix” things, while also never sliding over into defeatist “hunker down” tones.
I do feel this book is kinda like the prelude to another book that better addresses the “What is the solution?” focussed book. This book has done some helpful sociological reflection. But it does not quite offer enough “where to now” to carry the conversation forward… yet.