The Return to A Culture of Oral Tradition
Our current Liberal age is undoubtedly beginning to disintegrate. In its wake, postliberal life may begin to resemble preliberal life in some ways. One such shift was observed by Paul Skallas as a return to oral culture, rather than one of literacy. Otherwise known online as Lindyman and relying on the work of historian Walter Ong, Skallas characterizes literary cultures by their analytic and abstract thought, detailed in the form of books and the written word. This type of culture was made possible by the printing press, but before its invention, knowledge was more about what you could recall. Memorability is a key part of an oral culture, and cultural transmission therefore relies on repetition, polemics, and experience.
If this cultural diagnosis seems off, consider how Charlie Kirk rose to prominence. Most people did not (and maybe still do not) know that Kirk had authored multiple books. His influence instead was primarily a result of his combative college campus tours, short video clips, podcasts, and social media posts.
The advent of social media and digital technology has led to shorter attention spans, and the appetite for books and long-form writing (like this article) has decreased. The Financial Times reported earlier this year that nearly fifty percent of teenagers say they never read. Even social media posts, while textual in some forms, fit more into the oral culture framework.
The effects are not just online. The recent appeal of Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism amongst younger generations can at least partially be attributed to a renewed interest in “hard religion.” The rituals and practices these traditions uphold requires physical engagement and actual attendance. However, preferring experiential rituals, videos, and podcasts over books does not necessarily mean people are looking for less substance. In fact, it is often the opposite. Even Gavin Ortlund recently noted that “the least seeker sensitive thing you can do right now is be seeker sensitive. People want the meat, they want the substance.”
The emphasis on hierarchy, order, and tradition in Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism is understandably attractive in a world desperate for the sacred. In a recent article at First Things, Kevin DeYoung commented on why some people leave Protestantism for Catholicism, saying, “As Protestants, we would do well to think more deeply about how formality, tradition, structure, and space are critical supports in our commitment to worshiping a God who is high and lifted up and whose glory is beyond tracing out.”
It was DeYoung who came up with the phrase “Moscow mood,” describing Doug Wilson and company in Idaho. DeYoung inadvertently identified something salient and highly relevant to the shift in society as it returns to an age of oral culture. What seems to attract so many to Doug Wilson and the community in Moscow is not primarily their particular ideas or beliefs, but rather their fighting spirit and jolly demeanor. They are not only distinguished from other Christian communities: they are effective. Why? They know how to communicate in an oral culture. Canon Press and Wilson are often criticized for their combativeness, but conflict and repetition in their public communication are key to their resonance. Not every pastor needs to have a very online presence, of course, but we should not be surprised when the influence of someone like Wilson grows rapidly because he is where the people are, speaking and engaging with them in a way they can understand.
The prominence of a central figure, like Wilson in Moscow, makes for a more effective message in an oral culture. In written texts, people and personalities tend to matter less. But given that oral communication engages the senses more fully than the written word, “oral memory works effectively with ‘heavy’ characters, persons whose deeds are monumental, memorable and commonly public,” as Ong explained. Trump’s resounding victory in 2024 reinforces this point. It was not his specific policy proposals but the vitality and heaviness of Trump’s persona that made him the preferred candidate.
There are certainly reasons to lament the shift away from a culture of literacy, but whether we like it or not, people are increasingly being influenced and formed through mediums and methods that do not include books or precise, analytic thought. Instead, people are captured by personalities, experiences, and vibes, and the ideas follow along as a secondary consequence. Those trying to follow the rules of engagement in literary culture are mystified when their attempts at engagement are stifled.
Protestant Christians are more equipped for an oral world than they might think. Ong observed that “in Christianity, for example, the Bible is read aloud at liturgical services. For God is thought of always as ‘speaking’ to human beings, not as writing to them.” Reading and writing are still important ways to develop the mind and heart, but we would be wise to engage our neighbors and the masses through means more consonant to living in an oral culture. The aim today for Christians should be to compel and capture more than to convince. This may mean fewer books and more pamphlets, less blog writing and more post writing, fewer abstract ideas and more concrete solutions.
Churches should also take this shift into account and consider the ways they work locally. Thorough Bible reading needs to still be encouraged and expected, but there are ways to engage believers in the body that are more suitable to the oral world. Churches can aim to be what Patrick Deneen referred to as “communities of practice.” The “age of ideology” has ended, according to Deneen, and communities seeking to rebuild can emphasize practices over ideas. Churches have a unique ability to inculcate and imbue a particular flavor or aroma in their people through the active practices of faith, hospitality, dress, music, and food. This may mean fewer Bible or book studies and more potlucks and shared meals, fewer lectures on prayer and more prayer meetings, less time studying together and more time singing together.
The return to oral culture does not indicate the end of books, but it does mark a shift away from the written word. People are engaging with the world and thinking through the big questions of life in fundamentally different ways than they were even ten years ago. This new world functions with a different set of rules and tools. Protestant American Christians don’t need to develop new rituals or practices to adapt; we instead need to confidently put forth the compelling practices and stories already present in our tradition, and have the courage to live publicly for Christ.
