From Faith To Fragmentation: How Atheism Is Reshaping The Moral Landscape

My 17-year-old self would have never believed I’d go out of my way to attend church on Sunday mornings. I grew up in a French household that celebrated the Epiphany, but my mother, though baptized Catholic, raised me as an atheist. She wanted me to choose my own spiritual path. Like many people raised in secular environments (big cities like London and Los Angeles), I heard stories of people finding church rigid, out-of-touch, and even shame-inducing. So, I thought, why bother? 

But here I am, years later, realizing that the secular worldview left me feeling lost. As a teenager, I struggled with my mental health. I didn’t have a solid moral foundation to lean on, and I was more susceptible to falling for the short-term gratification of pre-marital sex, binge drinking, and other behaviors normalized in a secular society. These only deepened my feelings of low self-esteem and loneliness. I now see how Christianity could have given me a sense of meaning and belonging during a time when I was most vulnerable. 

The Decline of Faith and the Rise of Mental Health Issues 

It’s no secret that mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety, have been skyrocketing among younger generations. While social media, technology, and pandemic lockdowns are partly to blame, it’s worth considering another possible factor: the decline of faith in modern life. 

Most Gen Zers and millennials no longer view religion as central to their lives. At the same time, 67% of the Silent Generation and 62% of baby boomers say that religion is essential to them, and fewer than half of Gen Zers and millennials agree. 32% of Gen Zers say religion is "not at all important," and another 20% say it’s less important than other things. 

Could the increasing apathy toward religion be related to the rise in mental health issues we observe today? For a long time, faith has offered individuals a sense of purpose and moral guidance. In its absence, numerous young people experience isolation, which contributes to heightened anxiety, depression, and a feeling of aimlessness. 

In my recent article titled “How Big Pharma Turned Women’s Strength into Sickness,” I examined how contemporary medicine often treats emotional struggles as purely clinical issues. This perspective neglects the spiritual emptiness that many individuals experience. Though therapy and medication can occasionally be beneficial, they can't fully replace the more profound meaning and connection that faith offers. 

While science excels at explaining the physical world, it cannot offer the moral or existential guidance that faith does. We’ve been conditioned to see science and faith as opposing forces when perhaps they aren’t at odds at all. 

Science vs. Faith: A False Conflict? 

In high school, I took courses like Religious Studies and Philosophy, where we studied philosophers like Aristotle and Descartes. While we learned about arguments for God’s existence, like Aquinas’ design argument, modern science seemed to have all the counterarguments. The theory of evolution, the Big Bang, and fossils made belief in God seem unnecessary. Back then, it felt like science had won, and faith was just an outdated way of understanding the world. 

What people fail to remember, however, is that science owes its roots to religion. The Catholic Church created an intellectual climate that promoted education and inquiry. Early scientists like Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler, driven by their faith, perceived their work as a way to comprehend God's creation, merging spirituality with their quest for knowledge. Even Galileo, despite his well-known clash with the Catholic Church, initially operated within this context, viewing science and faith as harmonious.  

The conflict between science and religion is actually a modern construct. 

I didn’t realize then that the conflict between science and religion is actually a modern construct. During the Enlightenment, philosophers like David Hume criticized religious assertions and questioned the rationality of faith. Immanuel Kant recognized God’s significance but contended that morality could be established through reason independently of religion, employing his well-known categorical imperative. By the 19th century, Friedrich Nietzsche advanced this idea with his declaration of "God is dead," cautioning that without a supreme being, humanity might confront a moral void. 

Meanwhile, Karl Marx perceived religion as an instrument of oppression, famously labeling it the “opium of the people.” For Marx, religion was a way to appease the masses, and he believed that without it, society could be restructured with morality dictated by the state. This concept foreshadowed many of the secular, state-driven ideologies we see today. 

This philosophical shift didn’t just change the way we think about morality; it also transformed how science was perceived. What was once known as “natural philosophy” gradually led to modern disciplines like biology and physics. William Whewell introduced the term “scientist” in 1833 to refer to individuals who study the natural world. Modern science was becoming more focused on empirical knowledge and the material world. 

Looking back, I realize that while science can explain how the world works, it doesn’t answer the more profound questions of existence: Why are we here? What’s the purpose of life? Faith seeks to answer these questions, providing meaning that science alone cannot. 

The Consequences of a World without Absolute Truth 

As I grew older, I noticed slogans such as "you do you” and body positivity campaigns encouraging people to “love yourself as you are.” Initially, these messages seemed empowering, offering people the liberty to accept themselves and live authentically. But as I reflect now, I see how these ideas fit into a larger societal shift toward moral relativism, where personal truth is valued above shared standards of right and wrong. 

This shift in thinking didn’t happen overnight. It stems from early 20th-century anthropologists like Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict, who introduced the idea that morality is shaped by culture and environment rather than fixed, universal standards. Boas, the father of American anthropology, contended that the moral standards of one culture should not evaluate another. Benedict, his student, expanded on this, suggesting in her work that what’s considered moral is relative to each society and individual experience. These ideas laid the groundwork for the belief that moral truth is subjective, an approach that has influenced academic thought and continues to do so. 

Later, thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel Foucault expanded these ideas. Sartre's existentialism dismissed universal truths, arguing that people must create their own morality in a meaningless world. Meanwhile, Foucault examined how social structures and power shape what we consider moral or true rather than these being universal constants. This shift, along with Enlightenment philosophies, further weakened the religious values that provided clear moral guidance. 

It’s arrogant to assume that all of our ancestors (who built civilizations guided by faith) were wrong and that we, in our modern wisdom, can simply discard something so integral to human existence. For most of human history, faith has been a cornerstone of society. From the deities of Ancient Egypt, which inspired the creation of the magnificent pyramids, to the complex philosophies and artistry of Ancient Greece, religion has significantly influenced our development in ways that continue to impact us today.  

To overlook the importance of religion is to forget that faith served not only as a moral guide but also as a catalyst for some of humanity’s most remarkable achievements. For example, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, exemplifies the beauty and creativity that emerged from religious motivation.  

The focus on individualism over shared moral values has fostered division rather than unity.

Today, personal truths frequently outweigh any collective moral framework. Although this may seem liberating on the surface, it has left us more divided than ever. Without a collective set of values to unite us, we’re left to navigate life based on individual beliefs, leading to confusion over what is right or wrong and creating a fragmented society rather than a unified one. 

When Personal Truth Becomes Sacred: The Rise of Wokeism 

In today’s world, wokeism has evolved into much more than a social movement; it resembles a new atheist religion. Personal truths and identities are treated with great importance, often making it challenging to embrace alternative viewpoints. In many respects, wokeism reflects the framework of a faith system, yet it seems to miss the grace and forgiveness that Christianity teaches. Those who challenge or question these “truths” are often met with public backlash and are “canceled,” much like ex-communication in religious history. 

As Western society has become increasingly atheist, wokeism has stepped in to fill the gap that faith once occupied. However, this focus on individualism over shared moral values has fostered division rather than unity. While it professes to advocate for inclusivity, wokeism alienates and penalizes those who don’t conform to its views, fostering a culture where personal opinions are regarded as unquestionable doctrine. 

This new perspective misses the core of Christian principles: grace, forgiveness, and understanding. Christ's teachings remind us that we are all flawed and in need of grace, both from God and from each other. Abandoning these virtues risks making society less empathetic, substituting forgiveness with retribution and conversation with judgment. 

Reclaiming Faith in a Fragmented World 

In a world where personal truth dominates and shared values feel increasingly distant, faith provides a significant remedy for the isolation and moral uncertainty that many experience. Reclaiming faith does not mean dismissing modernity or progress; it involves anchoring ourselves in something timeless that has steered humanity for centuries. Whether through spirituality, community, or the ethical teachings of religion, faith connects us to a purpose that transcends individualism, guiding us to rediscover the beauty of togetherness and shared moral foundations. If we can open ourselves to this ancient wisdom, we can begin to rebuild a more unified, compassionate society where meaning isn’t just personal but universal.