Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization

Western civilization’s genius is in its synthesis of reason and faith. These foundations are under assault today from Islamists and radical secularists. Unless Western society recovers its confidence in this synthesis and its capacity to magnify human freedom and achievement, our future is limited.

This sharp commentary on the rise and current decline of Western Civilization touches on historical moments—including the building of early universities in the Middle Ages and the American Revolution—and figures—including Augustine, Acquinas, Edmund Burke, and Adam Smith—that exemplify the faith-reason synthesis at the heart of Western Civilization, as well as the modern villains that threaten to destroy it. 

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“Samuel Gregg has written a clear, eloquent, and concise guide to the intellectual and spiritual currents, rooted in reason and faith, which inform Western civilization at its best. He does full justice to the West’s Jewish and Christian roots and their affirmation of reason’s ability to articulate freedom’s purposes. He also lauds the best currents of Enlightenment thought even as he warns against the ‘forces of destruction’ that increasingly impel the modern world toward tyranny and a soul-destroying nihilism. With impressive learning and grace, he shows his readers ‘a way back’ to the old verities that point the way toward a promising future. A must-read for all who care about the fate of a Western civilization rooted in truth and liberty.” —Daniel J. Mahoney, Assumption College, author of The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity