From Publishers Weekly
In this insightful study, Allitt, who teaches history at Emory University in Georgia, explores the role of Catholic intellectual thought in the development of the political conservatism dominant in American politics during the 1980s. He examines the contributions of such Catholic lay intellectuals as Clare Booth Luce, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Michael Novak, noting that the positions of many were shaped and modified by changes in the Church following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). While tracing ideological shifts among proponents of conservatism, Allitt describes a parallel fragmentation among all Catholics over such issues as civil rights, family roles and church authority. In documenting a complex range of intellectual views on such sensitive topics as birth control, Allitt makes an important contribution to the annals of American pluralism. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Allitt discusses the new political conservatism that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and continued into the 1980s, a new movement that Catholic laity played a major role in founding and developing. The government's liberal reforms were interpreted not as supports to a maturing capitalist system but as threatening evidence of nascent socialism at home. The Soviet Union was viewed as an evil empire bent on world conquest. Catholic intellectuals such as William F. Buckley Jr., L. Brent Bozell, and Michael Novak teamed up with other conservatives in advocating a more militant posture during the Cold War and an end to domestic liberalism. They viewed themselves as the bulwark of Christianity and therefore the champions of Western civilization. They drew from their religious faith and tradition the principles they believed could draw civilization back from the brink of catastrophe and social malaise. This well-written and well-argued history is recommended for academic libraries. Index not seen.
- Philip Y. Blue, Dowling Coll. Lib., Oakdale, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Philip Y. Blue, Dowling Coll. Lib., Oakdale, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
