Marxism and the social justice movement are significant forces transforming American society. Marxism is the primary driver of the LGBTQ agenda, critical race theory (CRT), and cancel culture. Still, most of us don’t know the history of this ideology and how it can transform our communities. The Church isn’t immune to its influence. Two-thirds of our kids walk away from God when they leave home, conservative church leaders openly embrace LGBTQ lifestyles, and the postmodern Emergent Church is transforming Evangelicalism from within.
If you are concerned, you should be. Marxism is the deadliest ideology in the modern world. Marxists killed nearly 100 million souls who chose to resist their ideology within the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and Cambodia. A growing number of Americans who know nothing of its violent past are embracing Marxism as an alternative to Christianity. The social justice movement adapts Marxism to appeal to America, preaching a vision of a fair and tolerant utopian society— a heaven on earth, if you will. Marxism’s social justice narratives provide a new secular religion for a post-Christian America, and Americans are responding to its veiled messaging. Christians need to understand how Marxism is at odds with their faith, and here are five facts that may bring some clarity:
Christianity and Marxism are antithetical and irreconcilable.
Marxism denies the fundamental truths of Christianity and offers humanist solutions in place of God’s plan of salvation. As Christians, we believe God created unique individuals who fell because of sin and are saved by grace through the work of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sin entered the world through the fall of humanity in Eden, and suffering will be a part of our existence until Christ’s return. The world’s ultimate salvation rests in God’s plan through Christ alone.
Marxism rejects all of these truths, denying God’s existence and His influence in the world. It rejects the Fall and sees humanity as good and perfectible here on earth. Marxism teaches that society influences humanity, creating gender, race, and personality in every individual, and ultimately, society controls the outcomes of people’s lives. Marxists believe that societies that rely on exploitation and oppression cause endless suffering and genocide, while those that achieve equality and fairness provide a utopian heaven-on-earth existence. It teaches that salvation is humanity’s responsibility and relies on people’s ability to control the structure and goals of their societies.
Marxism teaches mankind needs to be saved from society, not sin.
Marxism argues that the institutions of society hold power over the suffering or thriving of humanity by shaping every interaction and outcome in people’s lives. Societies that pursue social justice (communism) create utopias, while those that pursue exploitation (western democracies) create suffering and genocide. Marxists argue that the economic systems of Western democracies, like America, are based on exploitation and victimization, creating inequalities or differences in outcomes for individuals and classes. They teach that corrupt societies allow people to exploit disadvantaged communities, preserving wealth for the privileged (capitalism) while keeping the marginalized mired in poverty. Marx’s disciples, the critical theorists of the Frankfurt School, expanded Marx’s theory beyond capitalism, applying it to every institution in Western society. Critical theory attributes every difference in outcomes people experience to exploitation, victimization, and oppression. Marxists and critical theorists believe America and the West are irredeemably corrupt and must be deconstructed and radically reorganized to eliminate the exploitation that creates inequalities by ensuring that society achieves equity, equal outcomes, and participation for everyone. Marxist critical theory is the driving force behind the social justice movement.
The Social Justice Movement is a Marxist critical theory in action.
The social justice movement uses the oppressor/oppressed narrative of Marxist critical theory as a new morality to justify the radical transformation of American society. Critical theory argues that the inequalities minority and identity groups in America experience are irrefutable evidence of the oppression and exploitation of those groups in our society. Institutions refusing to grant transgender athletes access to women’s sports and locker rooms is considered an act of genocide against the transgender community. Differences in outcomes in SAT scores, college admissions, education, and income between the Black and White communities are cited as direct evidence that the systemic racism of white supremacy is built into the structure of American society. The social justice movement works to end oppression by radically transforming American society to pursue tolerance for the LGBTQ community, equal outcomes for SAT scores, college admissions, and education, and the redistribution of wealth equally among society. This new moral paradigm rejects Biblical righteousness and embraces social righteousness that seeks to save humanity by deconstructing oppressive societies to pursue an egalitarian utopia.
Marxist Social Justice offers a new morality for America.
The social justice movement has parallels to Christianity. It presents a theory for the cause of human suffering and provides a pathway to salvation that leads to a utopian heaven-on-earth existence. It has its moral code and provides hope for atheists and agnostics who have none in a world of nihilism. It has the form of Godliness but lacks its power (2 Timothy 3:5) as it denies the fundamental truths of the Gospel to settle on human alternatives for the answers we seek. This has tremendous appeal for GenZ and the Nones, who have learned to despise Christianity in a world in which they feel little hope. When people disconnect from God, they don’t live life as atheists with no values. They search for a religious surrogate to replace the Christianity they left behind. The social justice movement allows them to have spiritual values without the constraints of Christian morality. People can pursue whatever lifestyle and pleasure they want if they save humanity by radically transforming society. This is very enticing in a fallen world where people desire a form of spirituality that empowers them without requiring them to submit themselves to God.
The social justice movement is devastating the Church.
We are only beginning to understand the impact the social justice movement is having on the church, and it’s already significant. Church attendance is at an all-time low in America, with only 31 percent of Americans attended a religious service in the past seven days. This includes all religions, which means the number of people who follow a theologically conservative church is surprisingly small. People are searching for spiritual fulfillment outside the Church, and they resonate with the social justice narratives. Today, two-thirds of our teens turn from God when they leave home for college and careers. When asked why they left, they say Christianity doesn’t address the challenges of today’s complex, multicultural, sex-positive world. The social justice movement accommodates their desire to provide a sense of moral fulfillment that condones lifestyles of gratification and self-expression. Some evangelical leaders and churches are relaxing Biblical truths to affirm lifestyles and Marxist oppression narratives that run counter to our Christian worldview. This will have devastating consequences. Christians cannot simply watch the advancement of Marxism and the social justice movement from the sidelines, hoping it is a cultural fad that will dissipate in time. Marxism, in all its expressions, is the most persistent and confounding ideology of the modern world. Even in free nations like America, people continue to embrace it, regardless of. its history of unimaginable suffering and genocide. Humanity prefers spirituality that empowers people to pursue self-fulfillment that frees them from following God. Marxism’s impact won’t fade over time. Church congregations will continue to decline, and our children will continue to flee from God if Christians fail to stand for truth.
