Worship and Culture, Part 1

Worship and Culture, Part 1 — Finding Our Place in the Conversation

“How do faith and culture relate to one another?” That’s a question Christians have wrestled over for ages. I recently was asked to speak on this topic, so here are some thought I shared.

In 1951, theologian H. Richard Niebuhr published Christ and Culture. In this important book, he describes five ways believers and churches have historically related to culture.

1. Christ Against Culture

This approach views culture as dangerous, corrupt, or deeply compromised. Believers should separate themselves from the prevailing culture.
Strengths: Clear moral boundary, calls to holiness, spiritual clarity.
Risks: Isolation, disengagement, missing opportunities for gospel witness.

2. The Christ of Culture

Here, faith and culture are seen as harmonious — believers find Christ in cultural achievements, science, art, progress.
Strengths: Relevance, embracing good in human creativity.
Risks: Dilution of gospel distinctiveness, syncretism, faith becoming a “cultural add-on.”

3. Christ Above Culture

A mediating or synthesizing view: culture is not rejected, but it must be guided or elevated by Christ. Grace perfects nature.
Often associated with traditions that see continuity between God’s design and human culture.

4. Christ and Culture in Paradox

This view holds that Christians live in tension. The world is fallen, and believers are in it but not of it.
It’s akin to the “two kingdoms” theology: we belong to both the earthly and the divine, holding that tension.

5. Christ Transforming Culture

Christians engage culture, not by surrender or escape, but by redeeming it from within.
When believers bring gospel values into art, politics, economics, education — culture itself changes.
It’s the “kingdom come, on earth as in heaven” approach.

So, which view is the most correct? I believe that each of them inform the relationship between worship and culture. Niebuhr’s own preferred model is #5, “Christ Transforming Culture.”

Some questions for reflection:

Which perspective best describes your church or personal posture?
Do you find yourself resisting cultural change and retreating inward?
Or do you feel pressure to conform to cultural trends in the name of relevance?
In what ways does thinking about the relationship of Christ and culture inform your worship?

The way we view culture deeply shapes how we worship, teach, and live out faith in our communities.