2:45 pm Panel II. Reclaiming Our Civilization: Faith and Family as the Foundations of the West’s Future

As Christ taught, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The same is true of civilizations. Even if the West succeeds in preserving prosperity, peace, and power, these are hollow without a renewal of its spiritual core. For nearly two millennia, the driving force of Western civilization has been its shared Christian heritage. Christianity shaped a distinctive moral order and provided a unifying foundation for Europe. Today, however, that inheritance is under pressure. Religious belief has declined for decades, and many Western states have grown increasingly hostile to Christian culture. This assault is perhaps most visible in the erosion of the family, long a cornerstone of Western society, from the redefinition of marriage to public scorn of the institution. This panel argues that any genuine revival of Europe must rest on the renewal of faith and the restoration of the family.