Christians Do Not Understand the Word "Culture"

Almost every day some preacher/Christian author pontificates on the word "culture." Mostly the message is the "culture" is bad. It is close to a synonym for sin. Conforming to the culture is bad, "correcting" the culture is good.

I've never read a Christian definition of what is meant by "culture." I suspect no Christian author wants to be subjected to a definition because this would require more rigor than he/she wants to practice. Within sociology/anthropology where the word is used extensively there several similar definitions are used. One I think captures them is, The beliefs, norms, values and symbols that guide human behavior and social organization. 

While this definition, also, is quite general and could mean different things to different people, it is different than the religious version because it is not in itself judgmental. My field of economics uses this definition to assign a basic motive of human behavior. You may disagree with this, but economics makes the assumption humans have a basic motive of survival, also referred to as self-interest. This is even present when humans do something for others without compensation. Humans need a group to survive. One step behind the above definition, ...beliefs, norms, values and symbols... is the belief a group is needed for survival and behaviors that destroy the group destroy oneself.

"Culture" as used in the fields of social science has nothing to do with sin. We are born into an existing culture and absorb what it teaches us about values, norms and behaviors. Until a few years ago, the majority of children were hauled off every Sunday to learn Christianity. This was the cultural norm. Christianity is in our pledge and in our day-to-day language. 

The link author claims the "culture" today is hostile to Christianity. That seems ridiculous to me. The culture is hostile to atheists, not to Christiasn. Atheists who publicly admit their beliefs are seldom elected to public office. I'm not complaining. It is fortunate atheists are not killed as in some countries. It is inaccurate, however, to say the culture is against Christianity. Just the opposite is true.