It’s one of the best deals out there: a McDonald’s value meal. You get a burger, some fries, and a drink for only a few bucks. (The astronomical sodium comes free.)
For several years now, McDonald’s has been offering a combo of a different kind: woke DEI policy. DEI stands for “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” In summary form, it represents the policy of social justice. When embraced by companies and institutions, DEI means that “race,” not merit, matters in hiring, pagan sexuality gets major support, and various quotas get installed in administrative leadership.
DEI, as I have argued in my book Christianity and Wokeness,1 is bankrupt.
Now, McDonald’s joins a rushing tidal wave of companies repealing woke policies. Wal-Mart, Ford, Boeing, and many other major American corporations have canceled or altered their backing of “social justice.” At McDonald’s, according to Forbes,2 this commendable shift includes:
- - Retiring “aspirational representation goals”
- - Pausing survey submissions to third-party groups, like the controversial Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index
- - Ending its required DEI pledge for suppliers
- - Changing the name of its Global DEI Center of Excellence to the Global Inclusion Team
As believers, we marvel at this trend in our society. Just months ago, it felt as though the woke Left had carried the day. They had taken over our political process; they made elections nearly impossible to win; they captured the media, Hollywood, many academic institutions, and corporate America.
But all that has changed. On social media, this has been called a “vibe shift.” DEI is out; athletes continue to eloquently praise God on national outlets; Joe Rogan is hosting conversations about the gospel on his podcast; believers are running for public office. Something is happening in America—something big.
We Christians have no idea what will play out in the days ahead. But we know this: A holy backlash is rising against woke leftism. It turns out that speaking up, voting, and holding companies to account still matter. As believers, we should recommit ourselves to such “salt-and-light” activities (Matthew 5:13-16).
We’ll need food as fuel for such work. But here’s a little tip: Don’t pull into McDonald’s and try to order the “wokeness value meal.”
That one is off the menu.
- Owen Strachan, Christianity and Wokeness (Washington, D.C.: Salem Books, 2021)
- Pamela N. Danziger, “McDonald’s Joins the Stampede Of Corporations Retreating From DEI,” Forbes, January 8, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2025/01/08/mcdonalds-joins-the-stampede-of-corporations-retreating-from-dei/
