Chapter 1 covers the early to mid 1900s, describing how we came to what Douthat calls the golden age of Christianity. He discusses the impact of Reinhold Niebehr, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., and Fulton Sheen on the resurgence of Christianity in that time. Interestingly, all mainline branches of Christianity seemed to have influential leaders that were well respected in and outside of their respective communities. The confluence of having such leaders all at the same time is very interesting. Perhaps it was only because of the general popularity of the faith, but it is hard to say for sure. In general it was a time where Churches were growing, seminaries were full, and culture at large had a positive view of Christianity.
Chapter 2 talks about what Douthat calls "the locust years". Five factors that swayed the culture away from Christianity: political polarization, the sexual revolution, globalization, growth of wealth, and class. Politics became more polarized as the issues being debated were less about a common enemy (nazis, racism). Instead religion found itself aligning on one or the other side of the fence in gray areas, causing divisions. The sexual revolution came about largely with the advent of the birth control pill, which provided a cheap, convenient way to separate the pleasures of sex from the consequences for the general populous. This caused many to choose between the ethic of the church or the sexual freedom of autonomy. Globalization showed that there were many other cultures that adhered to many other religions. The growth of personal wealth meant that people were able to live comfortably and further away from each other, so they no longer had to rely on others or the church to provide for them in any way. The intellectual elites began to reject Christianity on an academic level, which trickled down to culture at large.
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