The electoral case against a Catholic-conservative wedding
The push to wed the American right to Catholicism is not new, but it has reached a fever pitch. I’m a friend of both — by all means be Catholic, and by all means be right-wing — but please do not imagine that this marriage is anything short of a blunder.
TL;DR
- The fusion of the American right and Catholicism is intensifying.
- JD Vance's memoir highlights the "fusion between Republican politics and the Christianity of my youth."
- Intellectuals like Patrick Deneen and Adrian Vermeule are developing philosophical foundations for this union.
- The National Conservatism manifesto suggests public life should be rooted in Christianity.
- The traditional Christian right includes diverse factions, not solely Catholic, such as integralists and national conservatives.
- The author views the marriage of Catholicism and the right as a blunder, especially for electoral success.
- Vance acknowledges that some Catholic teachings are not widely acceptable to Americans.