As Christianity has declined demographically over the past fifty years in Western countries, its influence in state and society has declined as well. The spread of support for euthanasia and easy abortion access testifies to the loss of an earlier Christian consensus on the sanctity of human life. Declining marriage rates and the legalization of same-sex unions reflect the collapse of traditional Christian norms in the wake of the sexual revolution. Even falling fertility rates – to below-replacement levels in much of Europe – appear to correlate with growing secularization.

The project to forge a Christian society is in retreat. What comes next?