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Note: Parts 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series.

Barring anything unforeseen, the United States of America was forever changed on June 26, 2015. In the wake of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court formally legislated every state to license marriages between same-sex couples, and to recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed out of state.[1] Although over 70% of states already recognized same-sex marriage—and only 13 states had bans on same-sex marriage—prior to 2015, the Obergefell v. Hodges case largely marked the point of no return for ethics in the American public square.[2] When considered holistically, Obergefell v. Hodges was the culmination of an ethical crisis that had already been brewing under the surface for preceding decades. A corroborating example of this observation is found in a nation-wide survey conducted by Barna just one year removed from the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on same-sex marriage. Consider the following commentary from The End of Absolutes: America’s New Moral Code.

Christian morality is being ushered out of American social structures and off the cultural main stage, leaving a vacuum in its place—and the broader culture is attempting to fill the void. New research from Barna reveals growing concern about the moral condition of  the nation, even as many American adults admit they are uncertain about how to determine right from wrong… A majority of American adults across age group, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and political ideology express concern about the nation’s moral condition—eight in 10 overall (80%)… Moral concern is widespread across the demographic board. Much less widespread, however, is consensus on morality itself. What is it based on? Where does it come from? How can someone know what to do when making moral decisions? According to a majority of American adults (57%), knowing   what is right or wrong is a matter of personal experience… [Moreover], a sizable number  of Americans see morality as a matter of cultural consensus. About two-thirds of all American adults (65%) agree either strongly or somewhat (18% and 47% respectively) that “every culture must determine what is acceptable morality for its people”…   [Needless to say], Americans are both concerned about the nation’s moral condition and confused about morality itself. As nominally Christian moral norms are discarded, what, if anything, is taking their place? Barna’s research reveals the degree to which Americans pledge allegiance to the “morality of self-fulfillment,” a new moral code that has all but replaced Christianity as the culture’s moral norm.[3]

For the past six years, this synopsis provided by Barna has typified ethics in the American public square. Despite the majority of citizens residing in the United States being quick to note the country’s troubling moral condition, there is anything but agreement on how to right the ship. In a phrase, perhaps the most appropriate descriptor for the cultural landscape in modern-day America is ethical relativism: the view that different groups of people ought to have different ethical standards for evaluating acts as right or wrong.[4]

According to the ethical relativist, there are simply no absolute or universalstandards of right and wrong. Such convictions are saturated in postmodern philosophy, which inevitably seeks to eradicate all objectivity from human experience.[5] The ramifications stemming from ethical relativism is principally summarized as a “morality of self-fulfillment.” Or to utilize biblical phraseology, “let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we perish” (Isa. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32). Stated differently, ethical relativism results in anything being fair game in the realm of human behavior. Want to commit adultery? So be it. Does murdering bring you joy? Get after it. Does somebody have a possession that you earnestly desire? Go steal it from them. In the final analysis, if ethics can solely be reduced to whatever brings fulfillment to an individual—or to a collective society—then there can no longer be any legitimate accountability for one’s actions, nor any genuine questioning of one’s conduct. Anything goes in a world dominated by ethical relativism.

Of course, a cursory assessment of American (or any) society reveals that the cultural mindset of ethical relativism is not sustainable. Philosophically speaking, all forms of relativism contradict their own expressed convictions about truth being in the eye of the beholder. When the relativist states that there is no absolute or universal standards of right and wrong, they are by definition, making a truth claim that has absolute and universal implications. Practically speaking, when narrowly applying relativism to the sphere of ethics (i.e., ethical relativism), there has yet to be a single person live consistently with the demands of this ideology. As R.C. Sproul has well said, anybody can claim to be an ethical relativist until their wallet is stolen.[6]  Indeed, the testimony of human history reveals that mankind operates in accordance with certain ubiquitous principles of right and wrong.[7] Where does such an ethical compass arise? From biblical Christianity.

The Christian faith solidifies an absolute, objective, and universal standard for human ethics. When examining both the Old and New Testaments, we find that the Bible testifies to ethical precepts being written on the conscience of every human being (Ex. 20:1-17; Rom. 2:12-16). Whether at the individual or corporate level, it is for this reason that all people will—at some point in their life—lament manifestations of injustice and unrighteousness. Try as we may, it is impossible to escape the ethical guideposts that have been hardwired into our DNA by the living God (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:9-10). As such, given the inescapability of the ethical standards inherent to human nature, biblical Christianity must be seen as a necessary component to the public square. Without exposure to the truths of biblical Christianity, all grounds for human flourishing and ethical norms will inevitably evaporate into oblivion.

[1] “Obergefell v. Hodges,” ACLU of Ohio, January 16, 2014, https://www.acluohio.org/en/cases/obergefell-v-hodges.

[2] “A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Obergefell v. Hodges,” HUSL Library, accessed November 21, 2022, https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/lgbtq/obergefell.

[3] “The End of Absolutes: America’s New Moral Code,” Barna Group, accessed November 21, 2022, https://www.barna.com/research/the-end-of-absolutes-americas-new-moral-code/.

[4] “Ethical Relativism,” Philosophy.Lander.Edu, accessed November 21, 2022, https://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/relativism.html.

[5] David Ford, Mike Higton, and Simeon Zahl, The Modern Theologians Reader (Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), Page 192. 

[6] “The Myth of Moral Relativism,” Ligonier Ministries, accessed November 21, 2022, https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts/ultimately-with-rc-sproul/the-myth-of-moral-relativism.

[7] “Seven Moral Rules Found All Around the World,” University of Oxford, February 11, 2019, https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-02-11-seven-moral-rules-found-all-around-world.