Evangelization and Ideology
Secular political ideologies attempt to provide a total view of reality without reference to the transcendent. Yet all of them are, at heart, forms of idolatry, commanding their adherents to structure their lives around temporary and finite goods, which leads them to worship the false gods of pleasure, self, tribe, or fortune. In time, these diverse idols produce the same outcome: individual and social turmoil.
In Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture, Matthew R. Petrusek offers an antidote to ideological thinking: the principles of Catholic / Christiansocial thought. Analyzing the philosophical foundations of the four reigning secular ideologies of our day—utilitarianism, classical liberalism/ libertarianism, progressivism/wokeism, and non-theistic conservatism—Petrusek shows how Catholic / Christian teaching, while respecting the genuine concerns of these worldviews, responds to their errors and deficiencies by providing a more rational and moral alternative.
