We’ve largely moved from a society with many shared core beliefs that form a unifying moral canopy under which we live to a radicalized individualist society marked by deep fragmentation and tribalization that rejects any unifying moral canopy as the enemy of personal freedom.

The seismic shift in this emerging cultural reality is characterized by continuing tremors that leave many with deep uncertainty and anxiety, not only about crucial areas of morality but even understanding how to have a helpful conversation about them with family and friends.

Central issues in the shift include…

• Anthropology

• Our view of what it means to be human, including sexuality, gender, personhood, family, and marriage, and epistemology

• Examining what is knowable and how we can claim that things like transcendent knowledge or truth are possible at all.

The pressure to conform to new societal norms that often carry the power of institutional policy and the force of the Courts make offering a faithful witness one of the greatest challenges many have ever faced. In addition, children and young people are being actively catechized to abandon Christian teaching on these subjects, undermining the faith of thousands.

Churches and Christians struggle to understand their place in societies where faith, which was once widely embraced, has become everything from the subject of benign neglect and occasional ridicule to angry abandonment and hostile resistance.

Where are we and how did we get here?

How do we respond with both conviction and compassion?

How does the Gospel of Jesus Christ speak to this moment?