Islamicists are often accused of elevating political conflicts into cosmic ones. They can’t help “religionizing” conflict, given their pre-modern, irrational, non-secular assumptions.
Then Andrew Sullivan writes, shortly after 9/11: “What is really at issue here is the simple but immensely difficult principle of the separation of politics and religion . . . . We are fighting for the universal principles of our Constitution – and the possibility of free religious faith it guarantees. We are fighting for religion against one of the deepest strains in religion there is [i.e., fundamentalism]. And not only our lives but our souls are at stake.”
Thus far the wild-eyed secular prophet. Cosmic war, anyone? Will the real “religionizer” please stand up?
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
