In the last few years, there have been significant victories for conservative, biblically based morality here in America, and these victories should be celebrated. But as we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary and there is much excitement about formally dedicating the country back to God, we dare not underestimate the degree of moral decline in our land. In many ways, we are sicker than we realize.
To be sure, we can celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade, something truly momentous in our history, despite the spike in abortions because of the abortion pill. The fact that Roe is no longer the law of the land is massive.
More broadly, we can celebrate a spate of victories for freedom of religion under the current Supreme Court, also reversing a negative trend. As noted in the Washington Post on April 17, 2026, “The court has ruled in favor of religious liberty claims 98 percent of the time over the past five terms.” This, too, is massive.
We can also appreciate that the current administration does not recognize June as Pride Month, a tradition begun by President Clinton and continued by Presidents Obama and Biden.
And we can appreciate this administration formally stating that there are only two sexes, as well as the wider pushback against radical transgender activism, from local schools to the world of sports, and many court decisions.
There was also the major DC event in April, America Reads the Bible, and throughout the country, there are signs of campus revivals and reports of Gen Z young people turning to God.
This is a sampling of the positive things happening in our nation today, serving as indicators of an incipient spiritual awakening as well as representing some semblance of a return toward moral sanity in the wider population.
But to be candid, the state of the nation can be compared to someone who was almost killed in a car accident and is now doing “much better” as they recuperate in the ICU. They remain gravely ill and have a long (and uncertain) road of recovery ahead.
Here are just a few of the symptoms of America’s grave condition.
As noted in a May 12 article on Axios by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, “Once-forbidden vices — weed, gambling and porn — are no longer confined to back alleys or the desert.
“They're ubiquitous, digital and spreading at a pace that has outstripped the country's social and regulatory guardrails.” (Emphasis in the original.)
Worse still, “Governments didn't turn a blind eye to most of this behavior. They encouraged it. We're scaling sin in real time.”
As for smoking pot, “Not long ago, you might've gone to jail for using pot, much less selling it. Now, it's legal for a vast swath of Americans and serves as a primary tax engine for nearly half the country.”
As for betting, “There's no reason to visit a sportsbook when you have one in your pocket. That lack of friction is destroying the lives — and arguably the morality — of countless young Americans, even as it fills state coffers.”
As for porn, “Online pornography was already ubiquitous before AI. Now, deepfake technology has created an entirely new category of harm that barely existed two years ago.”
Who can even remember the days when you had to be at least 18 to access porn legally?
Today, young children encounter porn online, with the average age of first viewing estimated to be 12 years old.
The legalization of recreational marijuana is already resulting in what some are calling “a public health crisis,” while a massive spike in gambling addiction will have disastrous effects in the years to come.
How does a generation recover from this?
Or consider the phenomenon of couples living together out of wedlock.
It’s as normal as marriage in the story lines of movies and TV series, perhaps even more common than marriage.
As for having children out of wedlock, in the last 50 years, America moved from stigma to normalization. In 1970, only about 11 percent of births were to unmarried women; by 1999, it was about 33 percent, and by 2023 it was 40 percent, after peaking at 41 percent in 2009.
This represents a massive moral fall.
It’s the same with gay relationships.
Same-sex “marriage” has been the law of the land since June 2015, the date of the momentous Obergefell decision. And so, what seemed completely inconceivable not that long ago—namely, the redefining of marriage on a national level—is taken for granted by most Americans today.
No big deal. Nothing even to get our attention.
The first gay kiss on TV was in 1991 on NBC, featuring two women on L. A. Law, and it created no small stir.
Today, who can count the number of gay love scenes airing on mainstream TV, cable TV, streaming networks, and in movies, let alone the steady stream of gay couples featured in commercials? Does the average viewer even bat an eye?
It was in 1997 that Ellen DeGeneres’ TV character came out as a lesbian, resulting in a national uproar. How many of us can remember an America like that, when a famous celebrity simply saying, “Yep, I’m gay,” could shake the nation?
The very fact that the administration’s important declaration that there are only two sexes was applauded for its boldness says it all. This took boldness? This was something to celebrate? Saying that something as basic as 2+2=4 was a landmark moment?
We have even witnessed the normalization of profanity, with the f- word used openly everywhere, from political leaders to the biggest podcasters, to athletes praising “Jesus f*****g Christ.” This alone is a symptom of moral degeneration.
The good news is that all things are possible with God, and He can send such a massive revival that the Church will be awakened and transformed, resulting in massive cultural change as well. But the situation is more dire than we realize and the hour is more urgent than we understand.
This requires spiritual desperation on a scale unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes, starting with each of us individually. Do we realize how sick we are?
The White House cannot heal us.
The government cannot save us.
Religious institutions cannot transform us.
Only a massive spiritual awakening can turn the tide.
May it start with you and with me!