Theologian Carl F. H. Henry Warns of Democracy's Decline

by Lee Hollaway                                                                                                                        Vol. IX, No. 5, May 1996

As the United States prepares for its last presidential election in this century, a longtime observer has questioned the survival of American style democracy. "No nation and no culture can long survive in the absence of shared values indeed of transcendent values and absolutes," says Carl F.H. Henry, an evangelical theologian with more than 50 years' experience as a writer, editor, and observer of America's religious and political landscape.

The nation's loss of its roots in the church and Judeo-Christian values is at the heart of Henry's concerns expressed in his latest book, Has Democracy Had Its Day? released at the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission's annual national seminar, March 4-6 in Washington. "No nation can long preserve its own equilibrium - let alone provide world leadership - if it confuses ultimate distinctions of right and wrong and subjectivizes truth," says Henry. He points to several factors which he feels "loosen democracy's life supports:" the privatization of God, the failure to harmonize racial animosities, the triumph of greed and sex over moral sense, and a deliberately confrontational spirit.

Henry says he has not given up on democracy, but “ideal democracy remains a dream” the world has yet to see in practice. The United States is the “supreme world carrier of democratic principles. But America has far to go in fully actualizing democratic ideals of justice and compassion, democracy and freedom.” Keeping the democratic ideal alive requires, he believes, both corporate and individual commitment. “If democracy is to survive effectively, its champions need not only to pray but also to speak up, maintain links with elected officials, and support preferred candidates for office.”

Henry sees political participation as a moral imperative: "In an age when accepted standards of right and wrong are scorned, when doubt threatens to evaporate great national beliefs and political principles and weakens inherited guidelines, those who refuse to abandon history to the forces of decadence must speak out. Democracy can be forfeited if the people neglect intelligent participation in public affairs. Not to be personally engaged in this time of cultural indecision and moral confusion is to be unworthy not only of democratic political existence, but of significant human survival as well. "Christians, he feels, hold a special obligation. "Christians are citizens of two worlds, and the high price of neglect of cultural and political participation is that secular humanism or some other costly alternative will dominate the field. To the extent that Christians are able and competent they must actively participate in the political process.

Henry says he remains optimistic about grassroots support for democracy, even though some of its strongest supporters rarely are heard. “An embattled multitude remains devoted to the biblical heritage despite secular society’s routine underestimation of it. Most modern Christians view democracy favorably and believe it should be nurtured over against authoritarian governments. The surest way to lose it is to neglect its distinctives and to take it for granted.”

While it is possible that “democracy may not be the wave of the future,” Henry says he is convinced it is the best option available. “A democratically chosen and constitutionally limited government seems to be the political structure most compatible with the Christian insistence on human worth and liberty and most likely to accommodate the promotion and protection of human freedoms, justice, and peace.” [BP]