The Silicon Valley Christians Who Want to Build ‘Heaven on Earth’

The agnosticism Karp refers to is cultural, rather than spiritual. But like Trae Stephens, he believes the tech sector has been too focused on solving trivial problems and ignoring the most pressing issues of society. The problem, Karp argued, could be solved by rebuilding the United States from the ground up as a technological republic. (Presumably, that would include Palantir selling its technology to the government.)

Attendees network after the event.

Photograph: Joseph Gabriel Ilustrisimo

The Bay Area, where Silicon Valley is nested, has long been a haven for progressive values and is often perceived to be largely agnostic or atheistic. Its prevailing rich-hippie vibes are well documented, with tech workers turning to biohacking, psychedelics, Burning Man, and Esalen retreats as forms of introspection and self-discovery.

Those pastimes aren’t likely to wane in popularity anytime soon, but for some people, the ACTS 17 Collective presents an alternative community, one combining tech startup culture with fervent faith.

“I’ve worked in Silicon Valley since 2005, and my initial impression was that it was anti-Valley to talk about religion and belief systems,” Nate Williams, a startup entrepreneur and investor who attended the event last week, told WIRED afterward. “But now it’s becoming more normalized to wear it on your sleeve,” he says, a trend he attributes partly to people seeking community after the pandemic.

At some moments during the event, the twin themes of work and religion were so commingled that it was hard to make a distinction between the two: Is work the new religion, as it has been and ever shall be in Silicon Valley? Or does religion offer a different framework for how people should think about what constitutes meaningful work?

“When you get into the startup world—there are some things in life you can be casual about, but probably work is not something you can be casual about and have success, do you agree?” Ben Pilgreen, founding pastor of the nondenominational Christian Epic Church in San Francisco and the Stephens’ pastor, said to the crowd. “The themes raised tonight don’t seem to be something you can be casual about.” (Epic Church’s attendance has been steadily rising over the past several months, Pilgreen said in a recent interview with the SF Standard.)

After the talk, attendees swarmed the Stephens couple, thanking them for the discussion and asking questions about future events. One attendee told WIRED he’s now interested in visiting Pilgreen’s Epic Church and attending its dinner series, which, like the house of worship, has a startup-worthy name: Alpha.