Christianity and the Widespread Narcissism

No doubt the decline of religion accounts for the rise in self-obsession and self-importance that is everywhere observable. One of the great advantages of the Christian philosophy was that it managed to reconcile the unique importance of each man with humility. Every man was important in the eyes of God, and in that sense was at home in the universe because the universe was expressly created for beings such as he.
― Theodore Dalrymple, The New Vichy Syndrome: Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism

The decline of Christianity has not freed men from superstition. It has left them stranded in a world without meaning. Once, they understood themselves as creatures made in the image of God—fallen, yet loved; small, yet significant. Now, they see only themselves, cut off from any higher order.

Christianity did not diminish man’s worth. It affirmed it. Every man mattered, not because of his achievements or his self-perception, but because he was known by God. Yet this worth was not self-created. It came with obligation. Man was accountable, not only to himself but to the divine law. He was not a god but a servant. Not a master of reality, but a seeker of truth.

That balance—between dignity and humility—held society together. It kept pride in check. It taught men that their lives had meaning but that they were not the source of it. Without Christianity, that foundation crumbles. Man now believes he must create his own significance. He exalts himself in search of identity, clinging to every fleeting validation.

But this pursuit does not bring peace. It breeds restlessness. It makes every slight an attack on one’s very being, every failure a crisis. The Christian once bowed his head in humility. The modern man demands recognition. He does not find the fulfillment he seeks, because the self cannot satisfy itself. Without God, man is left alone—with nothing greater than himself to look up to.

II. The Self as the New God

A man who worships himself will always be chasing an identity he can never complete.

When Christianity fades, something must take its place. Man is not wired for nothingness. He was made to worship, and if he does not bow before God, he will bow before himself.

This is the defining feature of the modern age. The self has become sacred. Identity is no longer discovered in relation to a higher order but is invented, shaped, and demanded from others. Feelings are treated as unquestionable truth. Desires, no matter how fleeting, are granted moral weight. A man does not ask, “What is right?” He asks, “What is right for me?”

In the absence of divine law, moral certainty dissolves into personal preference. Virtue is no longer measured against an eternal standard but is redefined by each individual. And yet, the need for judgment remains. Man cannot live without some sense of good and evil. Without God to determine it, morality is built around self-affirmation. To disagree with someone’s self-perception is not an intellectual dispute—it is blasphemy.

This is why modern culture is so fragile. When self-worship is the highest good, every challenge becomes an attack. Identity must be defended at all costs, because it has no foundation beyond personal assertion. This is why people demand constant validation, why criticism is met with outrage, why offense is treated as harm.

The Christian once found himself by looking upward. The modern man stares into the mirror, expecting to find salvation in his own reflection. He does not find it.

III. The Rise of the Therapeutic Gospel

A faith that asks nothing of its followers leads them nowhere.

The church was once a fortress against self-worship. It called men to repentance, to obedience, to a life shaped not by personal desires but by the commands of God. It did not exist to affirm man’s sense of self but to transform it.

That has changed. Many churches no longer preach sin, judgment, or the need for redemption. Instead, they preach self-fulfillment. The new gospel is not about salvation but about self-improvement. Christ is not the suffering servant but a personal cheerleader. The cross is not a call to die to oneself but an emblem of empowerment.

This shift has turned Christianity into a mirror of the culture. Churches seek to be welcoming, but instead of leading men toward holiness, they lead them toward self-affirmation. They hesitate to speak of sin, lest they offend. They soften the demands of the faith, lest they lose members. They trade eternal truth for momentary relevance.

The result is a Christianity that asks nothing of its followers. No sacrifice, no discipline, no struggle. A religion that exists only to comfort will never convict, and a faith that never convicts will never save.

True Christianity does not exist to boost self-esteem. It exists to make men holy. It does not exist to affirm who they are but to reshape them into what they were meant to be. A church that refuses to challenge sin is no longer the church. It is a sanctuary for narcissism.

IV. The Social Consequences of Self-Worship

A culture obsessed with self-love produces only loneliness.

A society built on self-worship cannot endure. The Christian worldview bound men together through duty, sacrifice, and love. It taught that life was not about self-exaltation but about service—to God, to family, to neighbor. But when the self becomes sacred, relationships collapse. Others are no longer people to be loved, but tools for validation.

This shift explains the rise of loneliness. A narcissistic culture produces shallow connections. Friendship, once rooted in mutual loyalty, is now transactional. Love, once built on self-giving, is now measured by personal satisfaction. Marriage, once a covenant, is now a temporary arrangement—kept only so long as it serves the self.

Social trust erodes when people live as isolated individuals, each consumed with their own self-image. In a narcissistic world, no one is truly known. Everyone curates a persona, performing righteousness rather than practicing it. Without humility, there can be no honesty, no accountability, no real community.

The Christian understanding of love required sacrifice. Christ did not tell men to “be true to themselves.” He told them to deny themselves. A culture that reverses this principle will not produce strong families, lasting friendships, or meaningful institutions. It will produce a generation obsessed with being seen, yet terrified of being known.

Narcissism does not create happiness. It creates exhaustion. The more man fixates on himself, the more fragile he becomes. A culture without humility is a culture on the brink of collapse. Without self-denial, there can be no love.

V. The Death of Duty

Responsibility is now seen as an obstacle rather than a calling.

Christianity bound men to duty. It did not ask them what they wanted to do; it told them what they must do. Duty to God, duty to family, duty to truth—these obligations shaped men into something greater than themselves. They were not burdens. They were the foundations of a meaningful life.

But in a narcissistic age, duty is despised. Modern man is taught that his highest obligation is to himself. He must follow his passions, chase his desires, and cut away anything that interferes with his personal fulfillment. Responsibility is seen as a form of oppression. The father who abandons his family, the citizen who ignores his nation, the Christian who picks and chooses his beliefs—all justify themselves in the same way: “I need to do what’s best for me.”

This rejection of duty is why institutions are crumbling. Marriage declines because people see commitment as restrictive. Communities weaken because people refuse to be tied down. Even churches suffer, as believers demand sermons that suit their preferences rather than ones that challenge them. Without a shared sense of obligation, everything frays.

Yet a life without duty is a life without purpose. A man who serves only himself becomes hollow. The Christian understood this. He knew that sacrifice, not indulgence, was the path to fulfillment. The modern world rejects this wisdom, but reality does not change. The more men flee from duty, the more miserable they become. A civilization without duty is a civilization in decline.

VI. The Fear of Judgment

The Christian confessed his sins—the modern man performs his righteousness.

Narcissism does not free men from guilt. It magnifies it. The Christian understood that he was a sinner, but he also understood grace. He could confess, repent, and be forgiven. His failures did not define him because redemption was always possible. The modern man has no such refuge.

Having rejected divine judgment, he finds himself subject to an endless, inescapable tribunal—the judgment of society. He must constantly perform virtue, signal righteousness, and construct a flawless image. Every word, every action, every opinion is scrutinized. One misstep, one wrong phrase, and he is condemned. Without a God who forgives, there can be no forgiveness.

This explains the rise of cancel culture, ideological purges, and mass outrage. In a world without grace, every sin is permanent. The Christian, when wronged, was commanded to forgive seventy times seven. The modern man, when offended, demands retribution. Social media has become a courtroom with no mercy, a space where reputations are shattered for the sake of spectacle.

But this fear is exhausting. A man who cannot admit his faults, who must always present himself as righteous, lives in terror. He cannot grow, because growth requires humility. He cannot confess, because confession requires trust. He is trapped, forever posturing, forever afraid.

Christianity offered an escape from this. It allowed man to be honest about his failures, because failure was not the end. A culture that abandons this grace will find itself devoured by its own mercilessness.

VII. The Restoration of Christian Humility

The self cannot satisfy itself.

The way forward is not more self-worship, but a return to humility. A culture consumed by narcissism cannot sustain itself. It breeds isolation, resentment, and exhaustion. It tells men to seek fulfillment in themselves, yet leaves them empty. The only cure is to recover the truth that man was never meant to be his own god.

Christianity does not erase the self—it redeems it. It does not tell men to despise themselves, but to see themselves rightly: as creatures made in the image of God, yet fallen and in need of grace. It affirms their worth while humbling their pride. It does not demand self-affirmation; it calls for self-denial. And in that self-denial, it offers something greater than self-fulfillment—it offers meaning.

For this restoration to occur, the church must reclaim its purpose. It must stop pandering to the culture’s obsession with self and return to the harder truths. It must preach sin and grace, duty and sacrifice. It must once again teach men to bow before God rather than before their own desires.

This is not an easy path. But it is the only path that leads to renewal. A civilization built on narcissism will crumble under its own weight. Only a culture rooted in humility can endure. And only a people who acknowledge something greater than themselves can find the peace they desperately seek.

Man will always worship something. His only choice is between worshiping the self—or worshiping the One who made him.