The official reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris last month, over five-and-a-half years after the devastating Easter 2019 fire, was both a lavish and profoundly moving affair. Its famous bells rang, its organ’s great pipes sang, and the results of its $1 billion restoration were unveiled to the world. Leaders and dignitaries from more than 100 countries gathered in its soaring interior of cream-coloured stone columns as Archbishop Laurent Ulrich performed the first formal rituals.
Notre-Dame’s revival marks more than the restoration of a 12th-13th century architectural masterpiece. It stands as a profound testament to Christianity’s role in shaping Western civilization. Its monumental Gothic towers, intricate stonework, famous flying buttresses, and mesmerizing stained-glass windows reflect humanity’s enduring quest for the divine. The restoration transcends physical reconstruction, reclaiming a vital symbol of Christian heritage that shaped the moral and intellectual frameworks underpinning modern democracies.
Perhaps most importantly, Notre-Dame’s rebirth offers an invitation to reflect on Christianity’s pivotal role in establishing human dignity, equality, and the universal rights we often take for granted. Rooted in the Christian doctrine of imago Dei – the belief that all human beings are created in the image of God – the idea of the intrinsic worth of every individual laid the foundation for human rights. St. Paul’s declaration in Galatians 3:28 (“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”) radically challenged entrenched social hierarchies, providing the moral impetus for equality.
Key to this evolution was Gratian, a 12th-century monk and jurist whose Decretum Gratiani harmonized centuries of ecclesiastical rules into a coherent legal framework. Gratian emphasized that every individual – king or commoner, noble or peasant – possessed intrinsic dignity and moral worth, challenging the feudal hierarchies of the time. His doctrine of the Great Chain of Being asserted that rights are inherent, deriving directly from God’s eternal principles rather than human authority. This moral foundation laid the groundwork for constitutionalism and the rule of law, ensuring protections for the marginalized and safeguarding the weak.
Yet, as the Enlightenment unfolded, efforts to reframe these principles within a secular, rationalist worldview gained momentum. While thinkers like John Locke and Immanuel Kant sought to anchor human rights in reason rather than faith, their ideas remained deeply indebted to Christian ethics. Locke’s conception of natural rights – life, liberty, and property – and Kant’s moral philosophy — centred on the famous “categorical imperative” that a person behave only in ways they would consider acceptable in any other person — reveal an unmistakable continuity with Christian teachings.
Despite this heritage, contemporary society often dismisses Christianity’s contributions. Many Western nations now act as if they can dispense with Christianity altogether, forgetting that the principles of justice and equality they cherish are deeply rooted in its doctrines.
Christianity’s transformative vision inspired social movements through the centuries, and the abolition of slavery, campaigns for women’s suffrage, and labour rights were often spearheaded by individuals motivated by Christian convictions. Figures like William Wilberforce and Frederick Douglass drew upon Biblical teachings to combat systemic injustices, demonstrating the enduring capacity of Christian principles to promote human flourishing.
Notre-Dame’s restoration is thus more than a celebration of craftsmanship; it is a vivid metaphor for reconnecting with the values that shaped Western civilization. The cathedral’s intricate beauty and spiritual resonance remind us of humanity’s dual nature: finite yet transcendent, capable of great achievements yet reliant on divine grace. It symbolizes a worldview that recognizes the inherent worth of every individual, rooted in the belief that all are created in God’s image.
Historian Tom Holland’s Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World underscores this legacy, tracing how Christian values of compassion, equality, and human dignity became the moral bedrock of Western civilization. As Holland writes, “To live in a Western country is to live in a society still utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions. The ambitions of universal human rights, the expectation that the wealthy should look after the poor, the notion that society should protect the vulnerable – all of these are deeply and distinctively Christian.”
Yet, as secularization intensifies, the moral depth of human rights risks being eroded. Yale professor Samuel Moyn’s The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History warns that framing rights as timeless obscures their historical and theological origins, reducing them to hollow abstractions. In such a state, rights become instruments of power rather than enduring moral principles. Oxford theologian Nigel Biggar cautions that a purely secular understanding of rights lacks the moral depth necessary to justify their universality. When this happens, rights risk degenerating into tools of political expediency – a devolution that is all-but complete, with seismic implications for the trajectory of Western societies.
Notre-Dame’s grandeur and resilience offer a counterpoint to this drift. The cathedral calls us to look beyond the immediate and material, to rediscover the transcendent values that sustain human dignity. By safeguarding this iconic structure, we reaffirm the Christian teachings that inspired its creation and continue to underpin our shared moral commitments.
The original, full-length version of this article was recently published in C2C Journal.
Patrick Keeney is a Canadian writer who divides his time between Kelowna, B.C., and Thailand.
