Post-liberal Integralism

“Among Deneen’s more outlandish proposals is the suggestion that the separation of Church and State be abolished. Pointing to rising ‘deaths of despair,’ Deneen insists that it is not enough to ‘ensure [the people’s] freedom to pursue’ essential goods of human life, such as religious faith.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“Without question, modern liberalism is a target-rich environment. But so is the integralists’ alternative. Ultimately, it is their human anthropology that is false, and heretical—borrowing from, yet at the same time masking or distorting, Christian doctrine” - Law & Liberty

“In the current ‘post-liberal’ moment, there’s a new Christian authoritarian chic. Recent examples include a conservative Christian finding virtue with East German communism, and another extolling a ‘Protestant’ Francisco Franco for America.” - Providence

“Deneen calls for ‘a new elite … dedicated to the promotion and construction of a society that assists ordinary fellow citizens in achieving lives of flourishing.’ The result is a regime that is ‘left-economic and social-conservative.’” - Public Discourse

“While the concerns animating National Conservatism are real, its reduction of today’s problems and tomorrow’s solutions to issues of nationality, if stubbornly held, will lead to stalemate and irrelevance.” - Acton

“Nobody seriously thinks that hostile secularity is the ideal state of government, or rejects the claim that society should order us toward the truth or the good. What we cannot do, however, is wink at the authoritarian and illiberal claims about authority that are implicitly, or sometimes explicitly, made in some integralist arguments.” - L&L

“I understand the alarm that my fellow believers feel as we find ourselves increasingly out-of-step…. At the same time, I think this faith in a more muscular government, particularly when it comes to punishing and restraining speech, is misguided for at least three related reasons.” - Providence

“MacIntyre’s thesis about human dignity has attracted the attention of certain thinkers who have been pushing a new political vision for conservatives.” - Law & Liberty

“Should Blue Laws mandating closures of non-essential commercial activity on Sunday be revived? Some integralists advocate so, as do some Calvinists who envision a more vigorous Christian public life.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“…history shows that the church becomes a mere extension of the state when it falls into the trap of nationalism.” - Henley