From series: Against the Current

The Secular, Progressive Religion of the 21st Century (1/4) - Anatomy of a New Faith

Modern culture claims to have freed itself from religion. In reality, it created a new one - with dogmas, priests, heresies, and an inquisition.

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We live in an age that claims to have freed itself from religion. That it is “secular,” “rational,” “scientific.” That it has left behind superstitions, dogmas, and blind faith.

This is not true.

Modern culture did not abolish religion. It created a new one. Except this new religion does not call itself a religion. It calls itself “progress,” “science,” “human rights,” “social justice.” It has everything the old religion had - dogmas, priests, heresies, excommunication, confession, penance, rituals, eschatology, and even indulgences. It is missing only one thing: God.

Or rather - it replaced God with something else. Exactly as Paul described:

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

- Rom 1:25 (ESV)

In this article, we will take apart this new religion element by element. We will show that what pretends to be “progress” is in fact a very old structure in new packaging.

Dogmas

Every religion has truths that must not be questioned. The new religion does too.

Evolution as the only explanation for human origins. Climate change caused exclusively by humans. Equality of all cultures, choices, and lifestyles. Gender as a social construct. Questioning any of these dogmas is not “a different opinion” - it is heresy, carrying real consequences.

In traditional religion, at least it was admitted that dogmas were a matter of faith. The new religion pretends its dogmas are “science” - which makes them even harder to question. Because who wants to be “anti-science”?

Sacred texts

The old religion had the Bible. The new one has UN reports, “The Science” (not science as a method, but Science as an authority that must not be challenged), selected scientific papers (the “right” ones - because the rest are “pseudoscience”), international declarations, and activist manifestos.

These texts serve the same function as scriptures: they define orthodoxy, set the boundaries of acceptable thinking, and supply quotes to shut down discussions. “The science says…” works today exactly like “God says…” - it ends the debate.

Priests

Every religion needs those who interpret the sacred texts and proclaim truth to the people. In the new religion, this role is filled by selected scientists (not all of them - only the “right” ones), activists, influencers, journalists, and celebrities. They have authority not because they are right, but because they occupy a position of authority. Questioning them is not debate - it is blasphemy.

Heresies

In the new religion, heresy includes: questioning climate dogmas, expressing traditional views on gender and sexuality, claiming that not all cultures and choices are equally valuable, saying that objective moral truth exists, appealing to the Bible as an authority.

The heretic is not “someone who is wrong.” He is a bad person. His arguments do not require a response - they require condemnation.

Excommunication

Old excommunication has been replaced by cancel culture. The mechanism is the same: the heretic is expelled from the community. He loses his job, platform, reputation, friends. Not because he committed a crime - but because he expressed “incorrect” views.

The difference? Church excommunication had an appeals process. Cancel culture does not.

Original sin

In Christianity, original sin is a condition you are born into not because of what you did, but because of who you are - a descendant of Adam. In the new religion, original sin is likewise a condition you are born into not because of what you did, but because of who you are - white, heterosexual, affluent, Christian, male. “Privilege” is the secular version of original sin - guilt for which you bear no responsibility, but for which you must do penance.

Penance

And since there is sin, there must be penance. In the new religion, penance means: public apologies for views you once expressed. “Checking your privilege” - regular, ritual acknowledgment of your guilt. DEI training (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) - mandatory “awareness” sessions that resemble medieval retreats. You must go through them not because you want to, but because the new orthodoxy demands it.

Confession

Confession in the new religion is the public declaration of privilege. “I am a white male and I acknowledge that my position results from systemic injustice.” “Land acknowledgments” - a ritual confession that you stand on “stolen land.” This is not dialogue. This is not discussion. This is a profession of faith - a formula you must recite to be part of the community.

The difference from Christian confession? Christian confession leads to absolution - you confess your sin, receive forgiveness, and start anew. The new confession does not lead to absolution. The sin of privilege is permanent. You can do penance your entire life - and you will never be “clean.”

Indulgences

The medieval Church sold indulgences - you paid, and your sins were “compensated.” The modern version? Carbon offsets. You pay a company, and your “carbon sin” is “offset.” You fly a private jet to a climate summit - but you buy offsets, so you are “neutral.” You live in luxury - but you pay for trees planted in Africa, so your conscience is clear.

The mechanism is identical: pay, and your sin disappears. Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, protesting the sale of indulgences. Who will nail 95 theses to the doors of corporations trading carbon offsets?

Eschatology

Every religion has its vision of the end of the world. The new religion has the climate catastrophe. “We have 10 years left.” “The point of no return.” “Species extinction.” “Civilizational collapse.”

Except these prophecies have a certain problem - they keep failing to come true. In the 1970s, the scare was global cooling. In the 1980s - the ozone hole. In 2000 - the Y2K bug. In 2006 - “we have 10 years” (20 have passed). In 2019 - “we have 12 years” (7 have passed). Each time the deadline passes, the world does not end, and the prophets push the date and say: “But NOW it is really happening.”

False prophets of the apocalypse are nothing new. Jesus warned about them:

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

- Matt 24:36 (ESV)

Rituals and holy days

Every religion has its liturgical calendar. The new religion has: Pride Month (June), Earth Day (April 22), Black History Month (February), “awareness” months for nearly every topic. There are marches, parades, rallies - rituals of public profession of faith. There are symbols: the rainbow flag, the green ribbon, the raised fist. There are gestures: kneeling, raising fists.

This is not a metaphor. This is literally liturgy - a set of rituals that express belonging to a community and confirm faith in its dogmas.

Catechism

Like every religion, the new faith needs an education system that shapes the next generation. This role is filled by: gender studies at universities, diversity training in corporations, educational programs in schools at ever-lower levels. The goal is the same as in any catechism: shape the mind of a young person according to orthodoxy before they begin thinking for themselves.

Temples

The old religion was practiced in churches. The new one is practiced at universities and in media newsrooms. That is where dogmas are formulated, priests are trained, and heresies are defined. That is where it is decided what is “scientific truth” and what is “disinformation.” That is where orthodoxy is produced - and then exported to the rest of society.

Demonology

Every religion needs forces of evil - abstract powers behind the suffering of the world. In the new religion, these demons are: the patriarchy, colonialism, capitalism, systemic racism, heteronormativity. These are not specific people or acts - they are forces, invisible structures that permeate everything and must be constantly “exposed” and “deconstructed.”

Just as medieval theologians saw Satan behind every misfortune, modern activists see “systemic oppression” behind every inequality. And just as you could not prove Satan was not there, you cannot prove “the system” is not there - because it is by definition invisible.

Paradise

Christianity promises heaven. The new religion promises utopia - a post-capitalist, post-gender, zero-emission, fully inclusive world, free from all “systems of oppression.” A world where everyone is equal, happy, and “authentic.”

The problem? Every attempt to build paradise on earth - from the French Revolution, through communism, to Pol Pot’s Cambodia - has ended in hell. Without exception.

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

- Jer 17:5 (ESV)

Missionaries

The old religion had missionaries who went to the ends of the earth with the Gospel. The new religion has NGOs and activists who export their ideology globally. They do not ask whether a given culture wants it. They do not ask whether it fits local values. They come with “human rights,” “sex education,” “gender equality” - and they believe they are doing exactly what Christian missionaries once did. With one difference: Christian missionaries at least admitted they were bringing a religion.

Martyrs

Every religion needs martyrs - those who suffered for the faith. The new religion has them too: activists who “lost everything” for the cause. People who were arrested at protests. Celebrities who “risked their careers” by speaking in line with the new orthodoxy (though their “risk” mostly consisted of gaining even more popularity).

It is all the same - just without God

Do you see the pattern? The new religion has everything the old one had. Every element of traditional religious structure has found its secular counterpart. Dogmas, priests, heresies, excommunication, original sin, salvation, penance, confession, indulgences, eschatology, rituals, catechism, temples, demonology, paradise, missionaries, martyrs.

The only thing missing is God. Or rather - the true God has been replaced with many false idols: science, progress, the planet, “the right side of history.”

In the following three articles in this series, we will take apart the specific dogmas of the new religion:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

- Col 2:8 (ESV)
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