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The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege
 
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The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege (Hardcover)

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3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conventional wisdom on the left holds that conservatives bring up issues ranging from abortion and gay rights to the teaching of evolution primarily as a cynical ploy to activate their political base, but Linker challenges that notion by detailing the inner workings of the "theoconservative" movement. He describes it as a group of mostly Catholic intellectuals who view American society in sometimes apocalyptic terms, whose absolute and uncompromising moral framework for law—their ultimate goal is "the end of secular politics"—holds great sway in Republican circles. Primarily and almost obsessively concerned with Richard John Neuhaus and his journal First Things, Linker's exposé sometimes makes it seem as if the political philosophy that animates perhaps a quarter of the electorate is essentially a one-man show. More curious is that, though his words drip with disdain for virtually every position championed by the magazine, Linker himself was an editor at First Things until barely a year before his book's publication. This book may leave readers yearning for a more broad-based study of how Neuhaus—whose journal has a circulation of well under 50,000—and his ilk have managed to motivate a resurgence of politically minded religiosity in such a large number of Americans. (Sept. 19)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist

Linker informs us of a tiny cabal of -activist-propagandists who have forged an alliance between right-wing Catholics and Evangelical Christians that has worked so effectively for the Republican Party that President Bush, in particular, accepts its advice. The cabal's leader is leftist Lutheran minister turned hyperdogmatic Catholic priest Richard John Neuhaus, the founding editor in chief of First Things, the flagship journal of the cabal's movement, which Linker, once on staff at First Things, calls theoconservatism. Neuhaus' 1984 book The Naked Public Square advanced the idea that secularism forces religious voices out of public debates; conservative Jews as well as Christians found Neuhaus' notion very persuasive and politically useful. Linker believes that, however admirable its goals may be, theoconservatism at best misunderstands and at worst despises American liberal democracy, especially the wisdom of the separation of church and state. Linker's literate, reasonable chronicle and assessment of the theocons, that of an erstwhile colleague who shows no personal animus toward his former associates, is one of the most enlightening critiques of the Religious Right to date. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday (September 19, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385516479
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385516471
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,007,152 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Damon Linker
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Cause for concern, September 26, 2006
The Theocons describes a phenomenon that ought to be of concern to anyone wanting to maintain the United States as a democratic republic, the marriage of religion and politics. Randall Balmer has accurately described how the marriage of religion and politics tends to weaken and corrupt both religious and governmental institutions. Mr. Linker examines this phenomenon from the perspective of Catholic institutions, rather than from the usual perspective of Protestant evangelicalism. As a practicing Catholic, I didn't find the book anti-Catholic or anti-religion, rather, it is a just criticism of the attempts of some religious individuals to marry religion and politics. Mr. Linker describes in the book how he began his career at First Things believing in what Fr. Neuhaus was doing, and how he became a critic after observing the publication and its editor in action. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting discussion on conservative Catholic involvement in what has been described as "dominionism."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The enemy within..., February 4, 2009
This review is from: The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege (Paperback)
Well written and referenced. A great insight into the diabolical nature of the right-wing neocons and their agenda. If you are left of center you will applaud the book. If you are inclined to listen to the right-wing talk radio freaks, you probably won't like the book.
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29 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Timely and Excellent Book!, October 11, 2006
Linker does a spectacular job in his expose of the infamous editor, conservative and convert to Catholicism, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and his theoconservative colleagues. A well-written and edited work, this book systematically approaches the chronological development of an ideology that has come to manifest itself in the current United States governmental administration.

While the book might be viewed as polemical by those sympathetic to the theoconservative agenda, it is generally a even-tempered, fair treatment of the subject of a ideological group seeking to influence public policy.

An approachably written book, this is a nice analysis of timely subject regarding politics that diverges from the bounty of polemical material currently in print regarding the Bush Whitehouse. I highly recommend this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars America Under Attack
The Theocons is a hair-raising examination of how several men persevered for over thirty years toward a single goal: to inject their religious ideas into American politics. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sylvia Bokor

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, a scary book, an important book
You can't live in the United States of America and not notice the shift in politics towards religion. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lynda Lippin

5.0 out of 5 stars Highlights shift in loyalties in this country
Damon Linker, a former editor of First Things journal, details the rise of conservative theological influence on Washington politics in The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege... Read more
Published on September 17, 2007 by armchairinterviews.com

1.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Linker
Theocons sound like the latest version of Transformers: Autobots, Decepticons, Theocons. Whatever breed they belong to, it must have some audience draw to garner the author a... Read more
Published on July 17, 2007 by Gord Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars Father Richard, Or, The Old Priest's Influence And How He Gained It (apologies to Lewis Carroll)
"You are old, Father Richard," the young man said,
And your hair has become sparse and white;
You had started your ministry on the far left--
Yet you've ended up... Read more
Published on February 9, 2007 by Owen Hatteras

5.0 out of 5 stars A very important and timely book
I have been concerned for many years with the power and danger of right wing religion in America, and for me the focus has been on Protestantism. Read more
Published on January 2, 2007 by H. Parrott Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and insightful
Damon Linker's fascinating monograph is both compelling and insightful, having been in the midst of things as editor of the rightwing Catholic magazine "First Things. Read more
Published on October 13, 2006 by Full of Eyes

3.0 out of 5 stars Catholicism taken too seriously
Linker's thesis is that the Catholicism represented by Father Richard Neuhaus and his periodical FIRST THINGS is a danger to American liberty. Read more
Published on October 6, 2006 by N. Ravitch

5.0 out of 5 stars A fastincating, important story
This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the relationship between religion and politics in the U.S. Read more
Published on October 4, 2006 by R. Davis

1.0 out of 5 stars Non-sequiturs, alarmism, etc., etc.
If you're interested in non-sequiturs, alarmism, and a juvenile at best - revisionist at worst - understanding of American history, then this book is for you! Read more
Published on September 28, 2006 by R. Dowhower

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