More recently, the inclusion of anthropological and linguistic data in culture studies by Clifford Geertz, Pierre Bourdieu, Northop Frye, and others has opened up many new vistas of enquiry, yet each new emphasis often comes with an overall interpretive frame that must give Christians pause. Cultural apologetics, then, is simply apologetics that recognizes the key factors in the context which contribute to the way people think and behave. Francis Schaeffer did some of his most effective evangelism in art galleries. Seeing the picture is a most persuasive background for discussions of meaning and truth. We willingly confess that culture is God-given, and that even in a fallen world culture is a crucial factor to reckon with.
Culture is a complex reality.
One important adjunct to these definitions is the notion of popular culture. Here we have a wider application of the above principles, to a larger social group, and includes low-brow tastes and practices. Many researchers are giving their attention to this neglected branch of culture studies. Many tools are at our disposal if we wish to engage in cultural apologetics. Often they have been developed by able but unbelieving scientists.