Newt Gingrich thinks that Europe’s 'crisis of secularism' has seized the United States. | AP photo Gingrich warns against secularism

Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer breakfast, Newt Gingrich on Wednesday warned Catholics that Europe’s “crisis of secularism” — spawning a “government-favored culture to replace Christianity” — has seized the United States.

“The American elites are guided by their desire to emulate the European elites and, as a result, anti-religious values and principles are coming to dominate the academic, news media and judicial class in America,” he said in Washington.


Gingrich lashed out against the “secular pressures” that have led scientific publications to replace Anno Domini (A.D.) with the Common Era (C.E.), banned school prayer and struck out “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

He recalled the court battle over the Mojave Desert Cross as a "revealing example of the fanaticism of the secularists." Erected in 1934 to commemorate those who died in World War I, the cross stood in a national park. The Ninth Circuit said it was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court overruled on the grounds that it was an historic site. Then the cross was stolen.

“The head of the National Park Service has said he would not erect a replacement,” he said. “So even when religious freedom wins in court, the secular extremists have found new ways to circumvent the court and impose their anti-religious bigotry."

Though troubled by the changing culture, Gingrich said it also forced him to “come to grips” with his own faith — a journey that led him to Roman Catholicism in 2008.

It was a slow, decade-long exploration that began with listening to his wife, Callista, sing with the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. There he spent time with the choir and the basilica’s rector, which Gingrich called “one of the great blessings in my life.”

Gingrich shared his concern about America’s shift away from its Christian roots with the rector, just as he read books about Christianity’s battles against European secularism and Communist atheism.

When Callista’s choir sang for Pope Benedict XVI, the former House speaker was so moved he decided that evening to join the Catholic Church.

“For me, the joyful and radiating presence of the Holy Father was a moment of confirmation about the many things I had been thinking and experiencing over the last several years,” he said.

The speaker has since made a documentary, “Nine Days that Changed the World,” chronicling Pope John Paul II’s 1979 pilgrimage to Poland. Speaking at the breakfast, he asked the audience to imagine being the pope, facing a society that tore down crosses and banned school prayer.

“We believe this movie is directly relevant to America today and to our crisis of culture and civilization,” he said.