I turned on the car radio when I traveled as a historic preservation planner during that autumn of 1989. The broadcasts crackled with stories of nations tottering out of communism toward—we weren’t sure what. Eventually the Soviet Union split into separate nations: Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakstan, and a host of others. The Berlin Wall collapsed.

We who had lived with the threat of a third world war between the U.S. and communist countries could hardly believe it. Some talked of a peace dividend. Now, they said, we could use resources committed to the Cold War for domestic needs: schools, infrastructure, and investment in alternate energy to lesson our dependence on foreign oil.

Those days of hope collapsed with the Twin Towers on 9/ll. Today we live in age of doubt. We disagree in uncivil terms on where we as a nation are headed. We Christians have been rattled by the “new” atheism and declining numbers in some of our churches.

Yet a time similar to this one—the Renaissance—spawned the religious movement called the Reformation.

(more on these two movements)

The secular Renaissance overturned previous notions, disturbing the religious hierarchy. By doing so, it cleared the way for radical changes like freedom of religion and renewed faith communities and missionary movements.

We should resist the temptation of an ill-conceived attempt to return to a perceived golden age of “Christian” America. If Christian beliefs were more prominent in days gone by, it is because significant numbers of Americans thought Christianity made sense. If Christian beliefs are not taken seriously by a majority today, railing against unbelief will change few people’s perceptions.

Better to find God’s leadership toward new and renewed expressions of our faith or better yet to new examples of that faith.