The Ungodliness of Cancel Culture

“Cancel culture” is a social phenomenon in which individuals, groups, or organisations are publicly condemned, and socially or professionally boycotted. The “cancelling” of people is often seen on social media, and happens because of something said or done that is considered offensive, harmful, or unacceptable. Key aspects of cancel culture include: public call-outs demanding accountability, along with potential loss of job opportunities or platform access. In summary, cancel culture is about ostracising people and minimising their quality of life because of their apparent sins.

There are innumerable things people say and do that are indeed egregious, and have caused harm to society, so I understand why there’s a demand for accountability and consequences. The problem is, humanity’s outlook on morality and justice are flawed; our separation from the Creator has caused many to conceive their own idea of what’s moral and just. Some insist on enforcing their own set of values, while others believe in moral relativism. I would argue that both groups of people are in error because their beliefs aren’t rooted in truth, and can actually cause more harm than good.

Moral relativism isn’t limited to unbelievers; many who claim to believe in and follow God still accept the idea that we can all live according to our own values. This is why we continue to see debates among Christians on various topics, such as homosexuality and abortion. Although Scripture clearly defines sin, some reject the authority of God’s Word and choose to live by their own standards, leading to conflict. We live in a society that cannot agree on fundamental issues, so cancel culture cannot be based on sincerity. Social pressure grounded in a faulty moral system is futile. This is why I believe cancel culture can create more harm than good.

As a Christian, I believe that morality is established by God because He is the Creator. It makes sense that the Creator of everything, including humanity, has the authority to distinguish good from evil.

For those that share the belief that we are created by God, but reject the idea that He establishes morality, I have a couple questions. Where is your sense of morality derived from and why do you reject the Creator’s authority? There are numerous values that unbelievers live by that were established by God, but are attributed to “social construction” or “intuition”. For example, most people would say that murder is wrong and, some would say so because we believe life is valuable since it’s given by God, while others would say it’s wrong because taking a life causes immense harm to individuals and society. I would argue that without belief in a Creator, the concept of the sanctity of life doesn’t really make sense.

Contrary to cancel culture, Christianity genuinely desires to see people grow. This is why it is at odds with the gospel. The gospel (good news) is that salvation is available for everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ—who gave His life as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Cancel culture intends on ruining lives, but Christianity intends on restoring lives. Christ himself says, in Matthew 24:12, “because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold”, and it is evident that He spoke truth. The increase of wickedness in humanity has led us to have no regard for our fellow man, which is why it’s so easy for some to incite the ostracism of individuals and groups.

Without the love of God in our hearts, we become ruthless, and this is evident in the rise of cancel culture, where people are increasingly “cancelled” for not conforming to the norms of society. A central principle of Christianity—one even many unbelievers affirm—is loving our neighbor, yet the call to love our enemies is often overlooked or dismissed.

We often assume that we naturally know what love is, but I believe that God tells us what it is so we could truly comprehend it. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love is: patient, kind, unenvious, humble, honourable, self-less, merciful, just, protective, hopeful, and perseverant. All these qualities of love are suppressed when we engage in cancel culture, which is why it is without doubt ungodly. 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This is why I am not surprised that cancelling people is common among unbelievers.

It may come across as if I’m hypercritical of unbelievers; however, I assure you that I am not judging anyone personally, but rather their fruit. I’ve noticed that enmity between people, especially those who don’t relate to one another, is prevalent and common among those with no faith in Christ. This is because sin has distanced us from our fellow human beings and from God.

Christians should know better than to engage in cancel culture because it goes against the foundation of our faith. Our faith is built on love, which opposes the spirit of cancel culture. As followers of Christ, we should seek to follow the example of our saviour. Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. The fact that God saw it necessary to demonstrate love to us shows that we needed to be taught how to love. Since we have the greatest demonstration, we have no excuse. As Christians, we are recipients of love expressed through grace and mercy so, we ought to be gracious and merciful to others. For the love of mankind, Christ gave His life so that we could be reconciled to God, and through this, we also have the opportunity to be reconciled to one another.

All have sinned (Romans 3:23), which means that we all need salvation from the wrath of God—the penalty we deserve. Therefore, anyone engaging in the public shaming of others requires a reality check. By the standards of cancel culture, we should all be condemned for the evil we do. Alternatively, Christ doesn’t condemn us for our sins, he paid for them, and that’s why there is no condemnation for those that are saved (Romans 8:1). So my question for Christians cancelling people is: if you didn’t have to pay for your sins, why should they have to pay for theirs?

In the pursuit of “justice”, hatred is stirred up in the hearts of people who resonate with different causes of cancelling. Sometimes, a public call-out that might have led to true accountability and reconciliation instead leads to deceit and strife. Whether they truly have done wrong or not, it’s uncommon for people to respond well to harsh critique, which is why some try to cover up their misdeeds. Shaming others into submission does not produce good fruit, because publicly calling people out stems from ill intent. Even in the case of seemingly intending on creating public awareness, the result is hardly ever favourable to the betterment of society. Cancel culture has encouraged prejudice, harassment, division, and so much more that corrupts society.

Whether you’re an unbeliever or a Christian, you’ve probably questioned God’s justice. “If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world?” sounds reasonable, if you don’t know the gospel. The gospel exists to overcome evil; the salvation that Jesus gives is salvation from not only the punishment of sin, but also the power of sin, and eventually the presence of sin. Psalm 37:27-29 says, “Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever”. God is just and has a plan to allow everyone to reap what they have sown. Love is the fundamental nature of God, which means He is patient. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. While we question what God is doing about evil, He is allowing evildoers the opportunity to repent. We should be hoping to see people turn away from evil and towards Christ, instead of hoping to see them fall and perish.

It’s important for me to say that I am not against the restraint of people who are a genuine danger to society, I just believe it should be done in an orderly fashion. We have rules and principles that govern civilization for good reasons. Although it’s not always perfectly executed, the law helps to keep society safe. Even by biblical standards, we are expected to be subject to governing authorities because they are instituted by God (Romans 13:1). In His sovereignty, God guides the moral actions of human beings. Therefore, as subjects to the law, we’re expected to face sanctions for lawlessness. Romans 13:4 says, “the one in authority is God’s servant for your good”, showing us that God has given us governing authorities for our safety. This verse continues, to say that governing authorities are “God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”, demonstrating God’s justice. Verse 5 tells us that our obedience should not only come from a fear of punishment, but also from considering the state of our conscience.

Ultimately, cancel culture is problematic and ineffective because it doesn’t fix the issue of evil in society. When we engage in canceling individuals, groups and organisations, we fail to recognise the root cause of their misdeeds—seperation from God. When people turn away from God to follow their own desires, the prevalence of immorality in the world grows. Without His guidance, we go down all sorts of destructive paths that distort our sense of morality. We cannot address evil without addressing sin, which God has already done. Evil will continue to exist in the world, until the day comes when Christ saves the righteous from its presence forever. So if you are someone who desires to see evil defeated, submit to God and be at peace, knowing that He has already accomplished it.