Elon Musk and the rising appeal of ‘Christianity-lite’

The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, just announced that he’s a “big believer in the principles of Christianity” and “a cultural Christian.” Musk’s reasons are moral and political – he believes Christianity can boost both happiness and birthrates.

Musk joins many Western conservative thinkers troubled by a rapidly changing world. Some of these thinkers have embraced Christianity to combat these changes. Yet they often struggle to accept Christianity’s central supernatural claims, like Christ’s resurrection.

Adopting Christianity at least partly as a way to achieve political ends could backfire. However, such thinkers may have another option. If we can have coffee without caffeine and beer without alcohol, why not Christianity without miracles? Could conservative thinkers embrace “Christianity-lite” and still achieve their aims?

As an academic who has examined the meeting point between religion and psychology, I find this an intriguing question.

In conservative intellectual circles, the receding tide of Christianity is turning. For some, the appeal is aesthetic. The prominent atheist, Richard Dawkins, calls Christianity’s core claims “obvious nonsense”, but he still identifies as a “cultural Christian” because he enjoys hymns and cathedrals.

Others see moral value in Christianity. The British conservative commentator Douglas Murray calls himself a “Christian atheist”, rejecting key Christian beliefs, but valuing its moral ideas like the “sanctity of the individual.” US psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson acts “as if” God exists because, for him, it provides meaning, purpose and order.

Some see political value in Christianity. Dawkins values it as “a bulwark against Islam.” Musk thinks it can increase