I am a second-year history major, and in one of my classes, we recently had a discussion on an excerpt from a book on religious studies. Now, I was not raised in a very religious household. We never went to church or anything like that. Over the past few years, however, I have developed a curiosity for studying the different religions of the world and learning about how their existence has affected world history and how they still affect us today. So, to say the least, I was pretty interested in the topic.

Living in a “progressive” and “modern” and “secular” nation like ours is currently, I wasn’t surprised with the way in which the conversation veered. Most of the students in the classroom inevitably devolved their arguments, in one form or another, into generic Christian-bashing rhetoric.

Now, as everyone should know, our country was built on the principle of Christianity. As a result of this basic truth, our culture is ingrained in Christian principles whether each individual practices the religion or not. Every nation on earth operates on similar principles according to whatever religion happens to be prominent there.

In the modern era, however, it seems that this vital cultural fiber of society has been violently ripped from the threads of our nation. This is not good. Every nation should have a moral system, a moral code through which citizens can gauge their actions against what is “right” according to said code. America’s morality seems to be shrinking by the day.

Every other nation on earth still abides by their own set of moral codes set out by their respective religions, except the West. Why is this? Why are we left to wander through life, unknowing of what is right and wrong? Multiculturalism, that glorious amalgam of horrid ideas, only adds to the problem. Individuals who immigrate to America from non-Western nations also bring their identities with them. Their identities are arguably much more developed and ingrained in their being than modern-day Western ones.

So, when they arrive here (or in Western Europe for that matter) there is no local system of morality to gauge their moral beliefs off of. They do not change as a result. They do not assimilate into the host nation’s culture and thus keep their own. Over time, this will also end up diminishing the host nation’s culture into nothingness.

Nihilism. That is the West’s problem. Nihilism literally means that an individual does not believe in anything. As Alexander Hamilton once said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. This is a horrible concept to process. A nation must have a firm set of beliefs if they are to continue to function as a coherent whole. Now, obviously, I am not arguing for any one belief system to dominate others. That is just wrong and only results in suffering on all sides as history shows.

What I am trying to say is the West needs to keep its identity. The rampant nihilism and pessimism inherent in Western culture need to be stomped out. If the West wants to continue to be that shining beacon on the hill, this is what needs to happen.