In a much-cited 2014 article in the American Conservative, the political philosopher Patrick Deneen argued that the real debate unfolding among American Catholics was not one of â??conservativeâ? versus â??liberalâ? Catholics. That discussion, Deneen suggested, is passé. This is partly because (as Cardinal John Henry Newman observed) liberalism in religion is ultimately self-immolating. But itâ??s also because post-Vatican II â??liberal Catholicismâ? is fast collapsing into plain-old secular liberalism.
According to Deneen, the main argument among American Catholics will concern the relationship of modern liberal democracies â?? and, at a deeper level, the American Founding â?? with Catholicism. On one side, he suggested, are those such as Alasdair MacIntyre and David L. Schindler who seem skeptical that the American experiment is compatible with the Catholic vision of community. In the other camp are those such as the late John Courtney Murray SJ and Michael Novak who are much more optimistic.
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