State Privilege Won’t Save a Faith

Afte r Sohrab Ahmari criticized David French in The New Yorker last year, Google searches for integralism spiked (despite Ahmari rejecting the label), especially around Washington, DC, and its suburbs. The concept rejects liberal democracy and usually holds that the state should be subordinate to the Roman Catholic Church. Though not a theocracy, the government would protect and serve the church to guide men and women to their higher, eternal ends. Nailing down exactly how a government implements an integralist agenda can be tricky. As Andrew Walker notes, some integralist proponents just want “a public square more hospitable to religion,” while others want “a public square or government allied with ecclesiastical authority.” Depending on how one frames integralism, this idea can appear unappealing and foreign for many Protestants. Read Full Article »