Though several scholars had considered J.R.R. Tolkien’s Catholicism, none of them had looked specifically at Tolkien’s understanding of liturgy and how that liturgy shaped not only Tolkien’s soul but his very art. At last, Ben Reinhard has done so in his brilliant book, "The High Hallow." The High Hallow: Tolkien’s Liturgical Imagination, by Ben Reinhard (184 [...]
Is there hope for the American Republic? Of course, there is always hope, because America is built on timeless truths. Those truths can be mocked, ignored, distorted, or forgotten, but they remain true nonetheless. Every spring semester, I have the excellent privilege of teaching “American Heritage” to college sophomores. In that course, we go from [...]
Modernity and modernism, and all their fruits, are deeply opposed to the conservative vision. Conservatism seeks harmony, unity, justice, and dignity. Far from fragmenting life, it seeks to draw all together. As we wrestle with our present twenty-first century day—its successes and its foibles—we conservatives will throw around terms such as modernity, modernism, post-modernism, and [...]
At the moment, the Left seems to pose an existential threat to the republic. As a movement, it is composed of totalitarian ideologues who care only about power, not morality or love. They will implement the most inhumane policies imaginable. We must all be on highest alert. During my sixteen years writing for The Imaginative [...]
While we should rightly praise Thomas Jefferson for his authorship of the Declaration of Independence, we should never ignore the role of John Adams. If Jefferson was the pen, Adams was the voice. The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Experiment in Liberty (Stone House Press, 2026) “Who shall write the history of the American revolution? [...]
Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind became an immediate sensation upon its publication in May 1953. Prominent newspapers, magazines, and journals throughout the English-speaking world reviewed the book when it came out, sometimes twice, and almost always with depth and respect. Many disagreed with its 35-year-old Michiganian author, to be sure, but they did so with [...]
In what kind of world is it fair that the United States should shoulder the burden of protecting totally wealthy societies from a corrupt and violent world? Though it would be hard to pin a tail on Trump’s ever-moving and erratic donkey of a myriad of statements on every topic imaginable, it’s pretty clear that [...]
Ideology is not only lazy, it is, at heart, criminal. There never was an ideology that allowed for the fullness of man. Always, ideology denigrates the truth and the dignity of the human person. One of the most dangerous things to come out of the French Revolution was the notion and norm of an ideology. [...]
Whatever his failings as an imaginative thinker, President James Monroe’s own convictions were rooted deeply in the spirit and the letter of the U.S. Constitution. As he entered the White House in March 1817, he had little (well, less) use for James Madison’s newfound love of nationalism. While he entered the presidency too late to [...]
As a theory of history, progressivism always believes in conflict and violence and antagonism. Progressivism, then, not surprisingly, is wrapped up in bigotry, racism, and violence. “Progress! Did you ever reflect that that word is almost a new one?” asked an enraptured Woodrow Wilson in 1913. “No words come more often or more naturally to [...]
Outnumbering the Lexington militia nearly ten to one, the British easily won the skirmish. But, symbolically, they lost. For at the moment the first Lexingtonian died, the American Republic was born. British Major Pitcarne took six companies of an advance team to scout out Lexington, Massachusetts, early morning, April 19, 1775. Behind him marched nearly [...]
Not only did Jesus manifest Himself as the Logos so long desired in the pagan West on that Friday afternoon, but He also manifested Himself as the Christ, the true and eternal king. In some mysterious way, it was the death on Friday that revealed all of this, not the resurrection on Sunday. As Jesus [...]
Please never forget, we Catholics have a great legacy. We’ve been promoting liberal education since the days of St. Paul. Some of our greatest saints were liberally educated, and promoting all that is good and true and beautiful has been one of our greatest causes. The author recently delivered the address below to the Roman [...]
“The Roots of Ordered Liberty: America at 250” The Academy of Philosophy and Letters is proud to announce a lineup for our annual conference featuring talks by such conservative luminaries as Nathan Pinkoski, D. C. Schindler, and Kody W. Cooper. We will host a debate over whether the Federalists or the Anti-Federalists were ultimately right, [...]