In Peter Hitchens' new book The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith, readers get a whirlwind tour of how and why Christianity broke down so quickly in England during the last century. Hitchens actually covers more than that in this small book, but along the way he outlines the how and why of the breakdown of the Christian church after WWI. The path to an atheistic culture will probably work differently in America since somewhat different cultural forces are at work, but Hitchens' book is a dark study of why it might be possible that Christianity will remain a minority faith in Europe for the foreseeable future--and that means perhaps centuries.
One thing that Hitchens all too briefly discusses is the complicity of the Church in its own demise--first by becoming merely a chaplain to secular political forces and then by becoming a sentimental, theologically woozy suitor to all worldly trends. We have seen this latter hunger to be deemed "relevant" by American churches, first in the older liberal mainline denominations and now increasingly in various Evangelical bodies. Instead of standing with the hard truths of the Faith, Christians want to be liked and to be seen as "relevant," and so they make various concordats with secular culture, the latter never responding to the pitiful suasions of Christians who just want to be liked.
Hitchens is a clean, classical writer, and his emphasis on rational discussion demands a hard look at truth. I heartily urge the reading of this book by anyone interested in the contemporary state of Christianity and culture. The English context of Hitchens' experience doesn't fit neatly with the American situation, but his analyses still illuminate much that is happening today throughout the world.