Christianity & Existentialism
Radical Freedom and the Weight of Anxiety
Existentialism takes human freedom with radical seriousness: Sartre says we are 'condemned to be free,' fully responsible and unable to hide behind excuses, and that this freedom brings a deep anxiety. Kierkegaard called anxiety 'the dizziness of freedom.' Christianity honours this weight of responsibility, and points to a freedom in Christ that does not crush but steadies. Here is the comparison, fairly.
What existentialism holds
For Sartre, there is no God and no fixed nature to fall back on, so we are wholly responsible for who we become. We cannot blame our upbringing, our circumstances, or 'human nature'; we choose, and we own it.
This freedom is not only exhilarating but frightening. Kierkegaard, a Christian, had already named the vertigo that comes from facing our own open-ended possibility:
Existentialists are right that freedom is real, that responsibility cannot be outsourced, and that modern life is full of ways to flee from both. This is a serious diagnosis of the human condition.
What Christians believe
Christianity does not deny our freedom or our responsibility; it deepens both, and then speaks of a freedom that is not a burden we carry alone. Jesus offers rest to those crushed by it, and a liberty that is not lawlessness but being set free to love.
Where we agree
Existentialism is right that freedom is genuine and responsibility inescapable, and right that anxiety is the honest cost of a free creature facing its own choices. Christianity refuses cheap comfort here too; it does not pretend the weight away.
Where we differ
For Sartre, we are alone with our freedom, with no one to receive it. Christianity says our freedom is exercised before a God who does not abandon us to it, and that there is a freedom in Christ which quiets the dizziness without denying it. That is a claim to be weighed, not assumed.
Existentialist sources are quoted and attributed in the text: Jean-Paul Sartre (Existentialism is a Humanism, 1946), Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942), and Soren Kierkegaard (The Concept of Anxiety; Concluding Unscientific Postscript). We aim to represent each thinker accurately and in their own terms. Bible: King James Version.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 'condemned to be free' mean?
- It is Sartre's phrase for radical human freedom: with no God and no fixed nature to determine us, we are wholly responsible for who we become and cannot excuse ourselves. Freedom is inescapable, which is why he calls it a 'condemnation.'
- What did Kierkegaard mean by 'the dizziness of freedom'?
- In The Concept of Anxiety, Kierkegaard (himself a Christian) described anxiety as the vertigo we feel when facing our own open-ended possibility, the awareness that we could choose almost anything. Freedom and dread are linked.
- What does Christianity say about freedom and anxiety?
- Christianity affirms real freedom and responsibility, but says we are not alone with them. Jesus offers rest to the heavy-laden (Matthew 11:28) and a freedom that sets us free to love (John 8:36), and invites us to bring our anxieties to God (Philippians 4:6).
Come and see, and choose freely
Existentialism prizes an honest, first-hand encounter over inherited answers. In that spirit, the most honest way to weigh Christianity is to read Jesus for yourself and see whether his account of freedom and meaning rings true. No belief is required to read it.
Read the Gospel of JohnKierkegaard: the Christian existentialistWhy Jesus?