When the Salt Loses Its Savour: Why Churches Collapse When They Stop Preaching Truth

If everything is relative, what’s the point of going to church at all?

There’s an old theological saying: "sin makes you stupid." It may sound harsh, but behind the bluntness lies a profound truth echoed across the Christian tradition: sin clouds our ability to think clearly and act rightly. Once we become accustomed to calling evil good and good evil, even basic moral clarity begins to slip away.

This comes to mind when considering the ongoing decline of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC), a decline that mirrors other mainline Protestant denominations in the West. The recent election of Shane Parker as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada exemplifies the very trajectory accelerating this decline. Known for his progressive commitments, particularly to LGBTQ+ inclusion and interfaith dialogue, Parker’s strategy is to double down on cultural alignment, hoping that institutional reform and broader welcome will revitalise the Church. But this approach is fundamentally flawed. A church that preaches what the culture already believes offers no transcendent alternative. By trading doctrinal clarity for cultural relevance, Parker is presiding not over renewal, but over the careful management of institutional extinction. The salt has already lost its savour—and no amount of governance reform can restore it while truth is being relativised.

The Anglican Church of Canada's new primate, Archbishop Shane Parker. | Photo credit: Charlotte Poolton/Anglican Church of Canada