Catholic Colonization of the American Right

Abstract

Blandine Chelini-Pont presents an overview of the rise and evolution of the modern, post-World War II, Catholic Right. She traces the conservative Catholic movement to the emergence of a largely Catholic-led intellectual conservative movement in the 1950s centered in such scholarly publications as Modern Age and the magazine National Review. Led by such influential thinkers as Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, and Richard Wever, among others, a group of Catholic conservative intellectuals effectively moved the center of conservative thought away from the Old Right that had been overtly hostile to the faith. Chelini-Pont traces the development of the Catholic Right through the decades, including its fusion with neo-conservatism beginning in the 1970s, and its eventual alliance with the evangelical Protestant-led Right to create a powerful force in US politics.