Rod Dreher on Common Ground and the "Benedict Option"

The wonderful thing about Roman Catholicism is that it doesn't track one-to-one with American political divisions, and for me that was one of the liberating things about being a Catholic. It's good to step outside your ideological puzzle and realize that the Gospel is so much bigger than your political commitments, and sometimes being faithful to the Gospel means standing up to your political allies. I have progressive friends who do that on the issue of life, and I have conservative friends who do that on the issue of the environment or economics. But that's liberating, frankly. When you don't feel captive to a political party, when you realize that the church is not the Republican or Democratic party at prayer, that opens up some really amazing possibilities for your own growth as a neighbor and as a citizen and as a Christian.