The Anti-Progressive “Vibe Shift” Happening Right Now in American Culture

By Tyler McKenzie

This is a column on engaging culture with biblical truth . . . so we have to talk about the “vibe shift.” Donald Trump is only the second president in our nation’s history to be elected in non-consecutive terms. The other was Grover Cleveland, our 22^nd (1895-1899) and 24^th (1893-1897) president. Usually when the American people move off a president, they don’t come back. As Trump begins his second term, we have to name the obvious. There has been a significant “vibe shift” in American culture away from the Biden-era progressivism. 

That’s the term being used—vibe shift. I’ve been hearing about it for months from analysts, journalists, and podcasters across the political spectrum. One of the more clever headlines was an opinion piece from Ezra Klein in the New York Times titled, “Trump Barely Won the Popular Vote. Why Doesn’t It Feel That Way?” He points out that the president’s victory was modest at 44^th out of 60 presidential contests. He won the popular vote by 1.5 points. However, he observes that “Trump’s narrow victory in votes” still feels like “an overwhelming victory in vibes.” 

Political strategists from both sides are now asking the question, “Why?” Is the vibe shift because the progressives went so radical? Because the Overton window has shifted for conservatives? Because Trump is so beloved? Because America is so disheveled? Some have shown how this cultural shift is part of a global movement toward populism and nationalism in Latin America, India, and Europe. There is much being debated here, but what isn’t debatable is whether it’s happening.  

Celebrities, Big-Tech, DEI, Trans Issues, and More 

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of popular-level changes we’ve seen.  

• Inauguration support. In 2017, Trump’s inauguration was preceded by protests, including celebrity-supported women’s marches all over the country. This year, it had a more festive tone with celebrities like Carrie Underwood, Wayne Gretzky, and Joe Rogan in attendance. In 2017, Snoop Dogg was a vocal critic, releasing a video where he executed a clown-character that looked like the president. In 2025, Snoop Dogg played at an inauguration event. The Village People went through a similar evolution, requesting in 2020 that Trump stop playing “Y.M.C.A.” at rallies. In 2025, they also performed at inauguration events. The 2025 Super Bowl was the biggest shocker, as Trump was cheered by the crowd during the singing of God Bless America, while musical star Taylor Swift received a mixed response when showed on the jumbotron during the first quarter. 
• Big-tech and free speech. Speaking of the inauguration, I’m looking at a picture right now of Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Sundar Pichai (Google), and Elon Musk (X, Tesla, SpaceX) seated together at it. The shift from hostility to hospitality among the tech-lords is notable. A 2008 and 2012 Obama supporter, Musk donated millions to Trump’s 2024 campaign and now heads up DOGE. He claimed that he purchased Twitter to protect American free speech after the Jack Dorsey led company suspended the accounts of Trump, the Babylon Bee, and others. In a recent video, Mark Zuckerberg announced that their platforms would be shifting toward free expression by relaxing content moderation and developing a “community notes” system like X. Zuckerberg went on Joe Rogan’s podcast to discuss this. He shared scathing criticisms of how the Biden administration pressured them to censor speech.
• DEI and immigration. Many companies have now disbanded DEI programs. Trump has ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America (and Google chose to acknowledge this on maps). English has been deemed the national language. About 9,200 troops are stationed at the southern border with an additional 3,000 being sent this week.  
• Trans issues. There have been four executive orders released this year that have addressed transgender military participation, “gender-affirming” care for minors, the acknowledgment of two sexes in the federal government, and the participation of biological men in women’s sports. Noteworthy is the NCAA’s decision to comply with the Executive Order banning biological men from women’s sports, a reversal on their previous stance. 

Christian Mission in a Changing Culture 

As I read the journalism, listen to the podcasts, and watch Christian friends respond online, most people are judging the vibe shift in terms of good versus bad for the future of America. There is nothing wrong with that. But I would like to pose a related but different question here. How should this “vibe shift” impact our missiology? If America is our mission field, how does this burgeoning culture change our approach? If we are ambassadors of a higher King in a higher kingdom, how do our “kingdom-come” strategies shift to meet the cultural shifts? A few thoughts: 

1. We must adapt our message to the cultural moment. The mission is unchanging, but the methods are always changing. I teach young pastors this equation: Effective Ministry = Faithfulness (to the unchanging mission of Jesus + the inspired Word of God) x Relevance (to the changing culture + the dynamic people in your community). My desire is to remind them that the truth never changes but the context in which we deliver it does. Contextualization looks like taking timeless truths to changing groups (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). It’s our commission to meet this moment wisely. 

2. Progressive Christians need to ask “Why?” Rather than blanket-condemning everyone who is at all supportive of the vibe shift, progressive Christians should seek to understand why so many Christians are supportive. It’s alarming how quickly we resort to the tactics we once condemned when the tables get turned. As a young Christian, it always bothered me when faith leaders would say, “You can’t be a Christian and vote Democrat!” It seemed narrow-minded and politically idolatrous. What’s strange now is that I’m hearing the same logic from my progressive Christian siblings who are resisting the vibe shift. “You can’t be a Christian and support Trump!” Serving in a politically diverse church, I pastor fruit-bearing people on both sides of the vibe shift. I’ve learned in these moments that it can be enlightening if I try to understand why an obviously moral person who I love would carry a position that feels immoral to me before I start scolding them. Understanding the rationale and motives behind their positions helps me understand how to engage the mission field better, even when I don’t agree. The highest hope is enemy conversion, not enemy annihilation. Conversion usually begins with incarnational empathy and great efforts toward sacrificial love. 

3. Conservatives need to keep it weird. If you are pleased that the cultural winds have shifted in your direction, I would remind you that Christians do well to keep it weird. Tim Keller used to have this bit where he asked people, “Where does the Bible offend your cultural sensibilities?” He argued that historically the Scriptures always offended every culture in some way, and that shouldn’t surprise us. Think about it: if we discovered the Bible today, but as we read it we realized it was a carbon copy of the Biden political agenda, that would be concerning. It wouldn’t seem very supernatural and we would assume it had been tampered with. Fortunately, that’s not what we have in Scripture. Unlike any other religious texts, the Bible transcends all cultures and has an unrivaled knack for summoning us higher. Genuine conversion will always be to the weirdness of Christianity. You can’t only love its sameness. Is there anything weirder than a cross as your defining symbol? Mission-minded Christians will leverage the power of our cross-shaped story while resisting the power of complicity with any man-made story. 

4. Time to go all in on evangelizing the next gen! Research shows that there are shocking levels of spiritual curiosity in emerging generations, especially among young men. Investigating this data is for another column, but it’s worth saying that I don’t think there is a causative relationship between the vibe shift in our culture and the spiritual curiosity in it. However, I do believe that this openness highlights an opportunity with young people. The fact that spirituality is growing in its viability while emerging generations are amenable to different ideas politically shows that the soil is fertile. They have open minds. Let’s fill them with truth! Youths are listening. They are reconsidering their beliefs and traditions. There is an instability in what they’ve been told is true. We have a generation before us looking for answers. We have the ultimate Answer! We have inherited the great Tradition! We are part the divine Family. We are participating in the winning Revolution! All in! Let’s launch the evangelism project like never before. 

As always, I would love to hear ideas from you in the comments on the missional opportunities/strategies in our cultural moment. Please make good faith efforts to maintain civility, aim for unity, and speak in truth in what you share. 

Tyler McKenzie serves as lead pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.