The Culture War Is Spiritual Warfare

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For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Plainly speaking, the culture war is spiritual warfare. As St. Paul states in Ephesians, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the demonic powers in the heavenly places—the zeitgeist. Furthermore, Christians, including Catholics, who cede cultural ground, concede cultural defeat, or besmirch those who engage in the “culture wars” aid “this present darkness” in the ruination of souls.

Moreover, because God is the source of marriage, family, and human dignity—and because humans are body-soul unities—He provides the foundation for human culture and anthropology. When rightly ordered, human culture reflects the divine image and moral truth established by God.

Therefore, Christians must engage in the “culture wars” for the sake of both body and soul.

How We Got Here…

When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything. –G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908)

We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires. –Pope Benedict XVI (2005)

G.K. Chesterton and Pope Benedict XVI, writing almost a century apart, reflect the same sad truth—the lack of belief in God does not equate to belief in nothing but rather to belief in anything. With God removed, ego and desire become the sole standard for human culture.

Moreover, culture impacts all aspects of human life. What a culture endorses and celebrates shapes how those within it view and value human life. For example, the current trend in popular culture and media asserts that some men can become women or denies that pre-born life is human and therefore possesses no value. This cultural shift continues to impact the weakest and most vulnerable in permanent, irreversible ways. Such high costs demand engagement in the culture wars.

The Stats

Concerning the cultural impact on the most vulnerable, the Do No Harm Database reports:

In the United States between 2019 and 2023:
- 13,994 minors underwent sex change treatments.
- 5,747 minors had sex change surgeries.
- 8,579 minors received hormones and puberty blockers.
- 62,682 sex change prescriptions were written for minors.
- Total Submitted Charges: $119,791,202.

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) reported in 2017:

New PRRI analysis, drawn from a dataset of 40,509 interviews conducted throughout 2016 as part of PRRI’s American Values Atlas, reveals that most American religious groups support same-sex marriage and oppose religiously based service refusals.

Specifically, concerning Catholic support, PRRI stated that 63% of white Catholics and 62% of Hispanic Catholics support same-sex marriage (a significant increase from 43% of all Catholics in 2011). In 2018, PRRI further reported that only 50% of Catholics support policies requiring a person to use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex.

Furthermore, in 2019, Pew Research Center reported that a mere 37% of observant Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Juxtapose this with their March 2025 piece, 10 Facts About U.S. Catholics, which states that 59% of Catholics support legal abortion. (For those keeping track, 37 and 59 equal 96.)

A Catholic Culture in Crisis

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

As shown above, our culture currently stands in crisis, especially Catholic culture. Most Catholics seem captivated by the “hollow and deceptive philosophy” of the zeitgeist that pervades our modern world. In November of 2021, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez insightfully identified the current zeitgeist, which focuses on one’s own ego and desires, as “America’s new political religions.” This new political religion contains a “story of salvation” all its own, which replaces the old and outdated Christian one. Describing this new “story of salvation,” Archbishop Gomez states:

We cannot know where we came from, but we are aware that we have interests in common with those who share our skin color or our position in society. We are also painfully aware that our group is suffering and alienated, through no fault of our own. The cause of our unhappiness is that we are victims of oppression by other groups in society. We are liberated and find redemption through our constant struggle against our oppressors, by waging a battle for political and cultural power in the name of creating a society of equity.

Now, the archbishop also rightly states that many who fall for this new “story of salvation” do so with noble intentions. They desire to love and experience love. They also see injustice in the world and want to fix it. However, this “new story of salvation,” not rooted in God but in secular utopia, ends up “causing new forms of social division, discrimination, intolerance, and injustice.” A side note: Can anyone deny that these “new forms” of social division, discrimination, intolerance, and injustice in the United States did not experience extreme backlash with the election of Donald Trump in 2024? Trump won because of the culture war.

What Can We Do?

Archbishop Gomez, as a good pastor, does not leave us in a lurch but provides pastoral advice on how to fight the culture war.

We need to proclaim Jesus Christ. Boldly, creatively. We need to tell our story of salvation in a new way. With charity and confidence, without fear. This is the Church’s mission in every age and every cultural moment.

Christians, especially Catholics, hold the hope for this world. This remains true in every age and in every culture. He later continues:

Jesus Christ came to announce the new creation, the new man and the new woman, given power to become children of God, renewed in the image of their Creator.

To separate Christ from culture, as the new “story of salvation” does, by replacing Him with ego and desire, robs both spiritual hope and human dignity. For the sake of both body and soul, Christians must engage in the culture wars because the culture war is spiritual warfare.

To Christians Who Surrender Cultural Defeat

Furthermore, Christians who condemn or belittle their fellow Christians for engaging in the culture wars contribute to the robbery of hope and human dignity. For example, in response to Archbishop Gomez’s comments, National Catholic Reporter (NCR) wrote a hit piece called: NCR’s Newsmaker of 2021: Archbishop Gomez, a Failed Culture Warrior. More recently, Bishop Robert Barron and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) received similar demonization for defending “the Church’s mission in every age and every cultural moment.” These Christians embrace the new “story of salvation” while giving lip service to Christianity. To them, Christians must keep quiet and only venture into the world to do social justice. Failure to keep quiet, especially in expressing clear Christian views on human nature, results in public smears and demonization. Oh, the many bodies and souls lost to such thinking…

Final Thoughts…

To reiterate: Christians must engage in the “culture wars.” Why? The cost of not doing so will result in permanent harm to bodies and eternal harm to souls. Due to this cost, Christians cannot retreat or surrender the culture to those who seek to destroy it. And kudos to Catholic leaders like Archbishop Gomez and Bishop Barron for offering clarity in a culture so often confused by simple human truths.

Finally, keep fighting. The world needs cultural and spiritual warriors.