The Possibility Of Christian Democracy

Maritan does not think as highly of the American regime, but instead establishes what he believes genuine democracy ought to be. He does not describe the modern liberal state of democracy that we now have, but instead states that “The tragedy of the modern democracies is that they have not yet succeeded in realizing democracy” (Maritan, 14). He claims America needs to “…raise up the religious and spiritual potential of its democracy to the height of the cross” (Maritan, 18). Claiming it has this supreme potential indicates Maritan’s strong belief in the compatibility of Christianity and modern liberal democracy when properly influenced by each other. He doesn’t believe we should “…pretend that Christianity is linked to democracy and the Christian faith compels every believer to be a democrat,” but he does believe “democracy is linked to Christianity and that the democratic impulse has arisen in human history as a temporal manifestation the
inspiration of the Gospel” (Maritan, 21).
It is unclear whether Maritan believes that American democracy can return to this “true nature,” but it is clear that he believes liberal democracy, perhaps not the modern form, is compatible with Christianity. Although many of the thinkers listed previously express hope of the compatibility of modern liberal democracy and Christianity, they fail to provide a practical alternative that could be utilized today to combat the many conflicts between the two. Dreher, however, presents an alternative that a few families in modern times have actually experimented with; it is known as the Benedict Option. This “option” involves moving one’s family to a quieter place to raise children away from the modern culture. It’s mission is to imitate the actions of the monk St. Benedict. Dreher has faith in the effectiveness
of this option. He states that while the Benedict Optioners are a tiny minority, “…they may yet have more influence than anyone can now imagine” (Dreher, 7). As the father of a family who lives out the Benedict option stated, “The purpose of the cocoon is not to be wrapped up in yourself forever; the purpose is to prepare the butterfly” (Dreher, 4). In other words, the goal is to cultivate virtuous children who can potentially effect great change in the modern liberal state. Goerke, on the other hand, is less optimistic about this approach. He believes it is nearly unChristian. He states, “The true Benedict Option is not a flight but a fight. It is a fight to be wages in the heart of ever Catholic” (Goerke, 5). He views the Benedict Option as fleeing from the tension of modern liberal democracy instead of combatting it from within as a Christian ought to. Overall, the fact that the Benedict Option exists proves that there is definitive conflict between modern liberal democracy and Christianity. At the same time, the reality that this option is doable shows that Christianity is not completely incompatible as even these Christians still reside in the modern liberal democratic state of America.