The role of Christians in politics is changing as the light of faith grows dim in the West. Christians will continue to lose power and influence in the public square, but cannot let themselves be pushed out of it. There is a different kind of political engagement they must pioneer, one that draws lessons from the experience of dissidents from Eastern European communist countries. Czech resistance leader Vaclav Havel called it “anti-political politics”: the politics of everyday people and how they order their lives in the community. It includes how we work together to learn what the Good Life is and act to preserve those institutions, practices, and habits that make it possible. The techniques of anti-political politics can teach Christians how to stay engaged with the world while still living in truth.
Rod Dreher
Rod Dreher is a writer and journalist who focuses on Christianity and culture. He is a senior editor for The American Conservative magazine, and the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir The Li le Way of Ruthie Leming, and its sequel, How Dante Can Save Your Life. His latest book, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation, contends that traditional Christians will have to become profoundly countercultural and communal for the faith to survive the coming darkness. Classical Christian education is a key part of that strategy. Rod lives with his wife, Julie, and three children in Baton Rouge, where his kids a end Sequitur Classical Academy and his wife teaches in the grammar school. The Drehers are Orthodox Christians.
