Elson Musk, the Tesla founder and owner of X, now calls himself a cultural Christian. Musk has famously associated himself with atheism. He now joins other prominent men, such as Richard Dawkins, who’ve started using the title. While the term has recently risen to prominence, it has been used for years to describe those who observe traditions rooted in Christianity, though they may not attend church or believe in the Christian God.
More Americans are describing themselves as ‘Cultural Christians’ as church attendance shrinks. Richard Dawkins, who wrote “The God Delusion” and one of the most famous men in Britain, released a statement where he used the term to refer to himself. It is a stark turn from the outspoken atheist who now sees the value in the morals and traditions of Christianity.
Musk has said that Christianity “results in the greatest happiness,” and thinks it can stem falling birthrates. Dawkins has said “I like to live in a culturally Christian country, although I do not believe a single word of the Christian faith,” in an interview with LBC. Despite that, he added, “I’m on team Christian’s side, as far as that’s concerned.”
It seems as if Dawkins and Musk are realizing that the societal norms they support are downstream of religious culture. The Cultural Christian label was a way to hold on to these norms while discarding the religious basis for them. Robert Royal, president of the Faith & Reason Institute, says Musk “has a kind of bellwether quality,” says Dr. Royal. “I think he senses kind of a shift in the culture when he says he’s a cultural Christian.”
Arthur Farnsley II, a research professor of religious studies at Indiana University in Indianapolis, explained the meaning of the term. “We’ve known for a long time that a lot more people think of themselves as Christian than participate in Christian [congregations].” She thinks this term describes those types of people, who make up a large number of citizens.
“I’m pretty sure that when a Christian calls somebody else a cultural Christian, they mean, ‘You feel like all this stuff is true and important; you just don’t want to make any commitment.’ It’s a low-level insult,” says the Professor. “But when someone smart calls themselves a cultural Christian, they mean, ‘I think this religion is an important part of Western civilization, and I like Western civilization. I just don’t believe the hard parts.’”
Mark Movsesian, a professor at St. John’s University School of Law, describes how Americans view faith differently than the rest of the world; “It just means the kind of view of, What is important is your personal relationship with God. You have to really personally take this in and believe …it’s not a matter of culture. It’s not a matter of the Christmas tree and the party with friends around the yule log. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about your personal relationship.”
Cultural Christians are not new in American Politics. J. Edgar Hoover incorporated aspects of religion into his role as FBI director while not believing in spirituality. “He was kind of this version of a cultural Christian, where he believed in the importance of Christianity in the kind of fight for America, and the kind of America that he wanted,” says a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania.