{"id":57368,"date":"1997-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1997-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/"},"modified":"1997-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1997-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"protestantism-against-secularism","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/","title":{"rendered":"Protestantism Against Secularism"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems to me that despite its priority for socio-political change, organized Protestantism shows little strength for stemming the secular tide. It ineffectively confronts the strangling humanism that permeates university learning and that shortchanges generations of young people. It powerlessly contests the mass media, particularly television, whose ideal image of humanity and portrayal of life styles depict Christian claims as obscurantist and archaic.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[409],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3601,3612,3726,4517,4667,4900,5009,5302],"tax_ctp_topics":[378],"class_list":["post-57368","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-church","tax_ctp_tags-church-involvement","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-nation","tax_ctp_tags-postmodernism","tax_ctp_tags-secularism","tax_ctp_tags-social-impact","tax_ctp_tags-worldliness"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nProtestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It seems to me that despite its priority for socio-political change, organized Protestantism shows little strength for stemming the secular tide. It ineffectively confronts the strangling humanism that permeates university learning and that shortchanges generations of young people. It powerlessly contests the mass media, particularly television, whose ideal image of humanity and portrayal of life Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/\",\"name\":\"Protestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Protestantism Against Secularism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Protestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Protestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors","og_description":"It seems to me that despite its priority for socio-political change, organized Protestantism shows little strength for stemming the secular tide. It ineffectively confronts the strangling humanism that permeates university learning and that shortchanges generations of young people. It powerlessly contests the mass media, particularly television, whose ideal image of humanity and portrayal of life Read more...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/","og_site_name":"CT Pastors","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CTpastors","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/","name":"Protestantism Against Secularism - CT Pastors","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website"},"datePublished":"1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/protestantism-against-secularism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Protestantism Against Secularism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","name":"CT Pastors","description":"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization","name":"Christianity Today","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg","caption":"Christianity Today"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors","https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon-illustrations\/57368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon-illustrations"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon-illustrations"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon-illustrations\/57368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57369,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon-illustrations\/57368\/revisions\/57369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_audience?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_authors?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_categories?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_format?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_illustration_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_illustration_types?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_multimedia","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_multimedia?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_point_editor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_point_editor?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_publications?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_tags?post=57368"},{"taxonomy":"tax_ctp_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax_ctp_topics?post=57368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}