Cancel Culture: A way of behaving in a society or group, especially on social media, in which it is common to completely reject and stop supporting someone because they have said or done something that offends you.

That’s the Cambridge Dictionary definition of “Cancel Culture” – a term that has become a flashpoint for debate in recent years.  

The term “Cancel Culture” was first used (in a pop culture setting) in the film New Jack City (1991), as a misogynistic slur against a character’s girlfriend.

In recent years, however, it’s come to refer to the phenomenon of “culturally (blocking someone) from having a prominent platform or career” (Vox).

Cancel Culture certainly has plenty of detractors; an editorial in Australia’s national broadsheet referred to it as “civilisational self-harm”, while a more cautious article posted on The Conversation asked if it were possible to “cancel” cancel culture. 

Despite the nay-sayers, there are plenty of examples of cancel culture contributing to society. 

Many high-profile names have been “cancelled” for good reasons.

Comedians like Louis C.K. and Rosanne Bar, film moguls like Harvey Weinstein, and cultural figures like Russell Brand have all been de-cancelled in recent years for unsavoury – and in some cases criminal – behaviour.

However, there are other high-profile cases where the line is a little blurred.

A case in point is Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who fanned the flames of controversy when advocating for gender binary language to be the norm.

Some people believed Rowling had failed to move with the times, and was intentionally baiting the LGBTIQA+ community; for others, she became a hero of free speech and feminism.

Behind every cancellation is a range of complex factors; common to most cases, though, is a black mark against the legacy of the person at the centre of it all. 

This is where Christianity can help, says author and theologian  Amy Orr-Ewing.

“(Cancel culture) gets a lot of things right, such as the idea that we need to listen to the impetuses that are underpinning (events) so that we can hear the cry of the culture within it,” she said, speaking on Undeceptions.

“Unlike postmodernism, or relativism, which might tell us nothing is really right or wrong …  cancel culture upholds the idea that injustice is really wrong and it really matters.”

Cancel culture’s renewed focus on justice is a welcome thing.

Its big drawback is the lack of redemption –  something that has very real implications for everyday people.

“One of the tragic and horrific things for young people growing up in a culture is a fear of crossing a line when you don’t know where the lines are because everything’s moving,” Amy said.

“There’s all this anxiety about being on the wrong side of history and there’s this sense that redemption is impossible.

“The Christian faith has something really powerful to say in this cultural moment that yes, injustice matters, yes, transgression really matters, but God actually entered human history in Jesus and met us in our transgression and the death of God in history, with Christ on the cross.”

The irony of a Christian talking about the drawbacks of cancel culture isn’t lost on Amy.

Recent history is littered with examples of Christians being at the forefront of movements to cancel people for pushing “harmful” ideas.

Once again, J.K. Rowling is perhaps the best example of this; you don’t have to look far to find Christians wanting to ban her stories of magic, witchcraft, and wizardry.

Despite these historical shortcomings, Amy sees the church now presented with an opportunity to positively influence the conversation around cancel culture.

“Christian forgiveness isn’t saying that the hurt or the harm didn’t really matter or it wasn’t that serious,” she said.

“In the Christian faith, you have the possibility of redemption because of Jesus in history … (and) this public act of redemption undergirding, yes, the seriousness of harm, but then offering this possibility of forgiveness and redemption.”

Cancel culture isn’t the great evil that some cultural commentators like to paint it as.

However, notwithstanding necessary consequences, without any chance of forgiveness, it’s ultimately a zero-sum game.

 Adapted by Alasdair Belling, from Undeceptions Bonus episode ‘Cancel Culture‘, with Amy Orr-Ewing 

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