The Catholic Rejection of American Liberalism

For much of the 20th century, American Catholics have seen the United States and its liberal society as complementary to Catholicism. Recent shocks, including the 2008 financial crisis, Olbergefell v. Hodges, and the perceived atomization of society, have shaken the Catholic embrace of liberalism and may revive older Catholic critiques of America.

The Catholic critics of liberalism look askance at liberalism's emphasis on individuals rather than communities or higher purposes. According to these thinkers, liberals wrongly assume liberalism (sometimes neoliberalism) is natural, neutral, and free. On the contrary, they argue, liberalism actively enforces its own worldviewâ??—â??one they increasingly think is incompatible with Christianity.