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.
Of all five points given, I generally agree with the fifth point. The human capacity to create culture is a beautiful example of the image of God. That is one reason it falls apart so quickly without a strong Christian influence. I do believe we should engage the culture like the fifth point argues for. The danger, though, is to believe that changing the culture is the end goal. We ultimately know that: 1) Culture, like the rest of creation, will not be redeemed until God creates a new heaven and earth & 2) Any changes to the culture must stem from the individuals changed by the Gospel. I would love to live in a culture that fights for life for the unborn, where people work hard and are generous, the government seeks the benefit of the people, and what is good is glorified. But that change doesn’t come from fighting for those values to be upheld alone. We must engage the culture while simultaneously engaging individual hearts with the gospel. That is how we win over our culture for Christ. We start with the people creating that culture.
I thought Niebuhr’s thesis statements regarding the different ways Christians engage with culture were accurate, and the strengths/risks comparison was apt. I fail to see, though, how this relates directly to worship in the church. I do agree that culture and the Church can be influenced by each other, but how exactly do worship and engaging with culture relate? How exactly do each of the five views “inform the relationship between worship and culture”? I suppose you could ask if our culture is influencing worship services in the church, or are our worship services are influencing the culture.
1 I think my personal life and church reflect #5 the most.
2. Yes, I find myself understanding that I should not live like the world or normalize popular actions, but I don’t know if I necessarily retreat inward.
3. I definitely have felt the pressure to conform to cultural trends or at least support certain aspects of culture if I am afraid I will lose something. I know I need to learn to strengthen my confidence in my believe and stay strong.
4. When I think about how I can between live for God, which often happens when I am worshipping, I think about how Christ should shine through my life into society. The two cannot be separated, because if we are truly changed by Christ we will want to live for Him regardless of society’s actions.
This was an interesting read, as I realize that people do have very different views on how Christ and culture interact. The church I grew up in very strongly shows that they believe in the Christ of culture. This is hard for me as I do not completely support this view. I do believe it is important for us as believers to properly identify how our worship and culture interact, because this is absolutely important. This helps us to understand how to reach our culture with the Gospel.