From the founding of Playboy in 1953, to the so-called “transgender rights” in 2016

The Five Phases of the Sexual and Cultural Revolution


By Mark S. Latkovic, S.T.D.


From the founding of Playboy in 1953, 

• to the invention of the Pill in 1960, 
• to the decriminalization of abortion in 1973, 
• to the decades-old and on-going crusade for euthanasia/assisted suicide, 
• to the Supreme Court’s upholding of abortion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 (with its notorious “mystery passage”), 
• to the legalization of gay marriage in 2015, 
• to the battle over bathrooms and so-called “transgender rights” in 2016, traditionalist American culture has absorbed many body blows. 

The question is, how many more can it take before any recovery is impossible, before it cannot come out to fight another round?

In the aftermath of the traumas of the first half of the 20th century—the Great Depression and the two World Wars stand out among them—Americans experienced an unprecedented period of affluence and optimism symbolized by its “baby boom” (1946-1964). But this faith-in-the-future child-friendly and homogenous culture was short-lived. Other materialist and relativist ideologies, more often rooted in hedonism than the holy, were vying for our allegiance. 

Still, not all was bad. Evidence of that could be found in the Civil Rights Movement which was then, unlike the past four decades, still largely inspired by Christian faith and faith in America’s founding principles. As well, the Cold War drew clear lines between the tyranny of communism and the forces of freedom, with Christian faith again playing a crucial part in winning this long war.

Today, however, it’s hard to think of a movement, with the possible exception of the pro-life movement, where religion has been such a driving force for positive social change. 

Nonetheless, if our culture is to have a fighting chance, the Christian religion will have to play a major role in its restoration and renewal, as it has throughout our nation’s history. 

Catholics in particular will need to step up and say “enough is enough,” and then start living as if they believed their faith is really true because its Founder is the Truth, and theWay and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6).

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We are all aware of how fast and sweeping the moral, cultural, political, economic, and technological changes have been in Western societies, especially since the end of World War II. The “New Morality”—which is really not so “new” anymore—has a long history that pre-dates the war. In this article, I would like to briefly trace the various phases of how we got from the Old Morality to the New Morality in the post-war period in the United States. Essentially, I will sketch the five phases or stages of what we often call the Sexual and Cultural Revolution.

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