Table Of Content

Conservatism and Grace This book offers a systematic and detailed examination of the c onservative case for religion by establishment. In doing so, the author demonstrates that the conservative political tradition is rooted in an inescapably religious worldview, and in turn shows what the future of conservatism might be. The author begins the book by analysing the thought of prominent pro- ponents of secular conservatism, chiefly examining the work of Roger Scruton. The author develops a case to show that Scruton’s arguments on the privatisation of religion are in tension with his basing of a conservative political settlement on ‘transcendent bonds’. The author then examines alternatives to secular conservatism, especially the chief religious and metaphysical commitments of early conservatives, Edmund Burke and Joseph de Maistre. Finally, in seeking to establish a foundational argument for religion by establishment within the conservative tradition, and more broadly to unify the diverse commitments and objections of conservatives, the author develops a case that draws on Scruton’s personalism, as well as the thought of Martin Buber, Andrew Pinsent, and Robert Spaemann. In the course of developing his foundational argument, the author incorpo- rates findings from experimental psychology and themes from contemporary theology. The result is a convincing argument in favour of establishmentarian conservatism, as well as the role of religious ideas in our self-understanding as individuals and as a political community. Conservatism and Grace will appeal to scholars and advanced students interested in political philosophy, philosophy of religion, theology, and the history of conservatism. Sebastian Morello is a lecturer, public speaker, editor, and columnist based in Bedfordshire, England. He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Buckingham, UK under the supervision of Sir Roger Scruton, Andrew Pinsent, and Alicja Gescinska. He is the author of The World as God’s Icon: Creator and Creation in the Platonic Thought of Thomas Aquinas (2020). Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy The Philosophy of Exemplarity Singularity, Particularity, and Self-Reference Jakub Mácha Wealth and Power Philosophical Perspectives Edited by Michael Bennett, Huub Brouwer, and Rutger Claassen Philosophical Perspectives on Memory and Imagination Anja Berninger and Íngrid Vendrell Ferran Non-Ideal Foundations of Language Jessica Keiser Unconscious Networks Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Artificial Intelligence Luca M. Possati Updating the Interpretive Turn New Arguments in Hermeneutics Edited by Michiel Meijer Conservatism and Grace The Conservative Case for Religion by Establishment Sebastian Morello The Ethics of Interpretation From Charity as a Principle to Love as a Hermeneutic Imperative Pol Vandevelde For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge. com/Routledge-Studies-in-Contemporary-Philosophy/book-series/SE0720 Conservatism and Grace The Conservative Case for Religion by Establishment Sebastian Morello First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Sebastian Morello The right of Sebastian Morello to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechani- cal, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identifica- tion and explanation without intent to infringe. ISBN: 978-1-032-41734-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-41690-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-35948-7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003359487 Typeset in Sabon by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive) For my parents, Yvette and Robin Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xii Author’s note on pronouns xiv Introduction 1 Notes 3 1 The notion of secular conservatism 4 1.1 The secular principles of a conservative society 5 1.2 Scruton’s uprooting of conservatism from its historically religious framework 11 1.3 Scruton’s re-rooting of a secular conservatism: national loyalty 24 1.4 A preliminary alternative to Scruton’s secular conservatism 39 Notes 52 2 Religion by establishment in Edmund Burke 61 2.1 Burke’s teleological worldview 62 2.2 Summary of Burke’s politico-religious thought 89 Notes 91 3 Religion by establishment in Joseph de Maistre 100 3.1 Maistre’s sacrificio-Platonic ontology 101 3.2 Summary of Maistre’s politico-religious thought 158 Notes 164 viii Contents 4 A foundational conservative case for religion by establishment 177 4.1 Second-person perspective 180 4.2 Second-person perspective and Christianity 213 4.3 Second-person perspective and conservatism 235 Notes 251 5 Conclusion 263 Notes 272 Bibliography 276 Index 283 Preface At a time when it seems that every facet of our civilisational inheritance is derided, the burdensome imperative for the conservative is that of mak- ing a positive case for conservatism. It is insufficient to simply slow down the concession of ever more cultural territory to those who wish to repu- diate the inherited culture. For this reason, it is inadequate to present conservatism as a mere ‘tradition of self-criticism within liberalism’, but so too it is insufficient to form only a reactionary case against that which conservatism instinctively opposes. Rather, the task before the conservative philosopher is that of unifying conservatism’s objections and conclu- sions into a coherent position, explaining its attitudinal character, and concurrently accounting for the oft-felt and commonly observed connec- tion between conservatism and religion, which is often left ambiguous. This imperative weighs on the conservative thinker because conservatism—if it is to persist as a political and cultural force—must give some account of itself. Such an account, however, cannot be purely abstract or ideological (if it is to be conservative), and must, it seems to me, offer some spiritual and moral vision of the human person. If conservatism fails to offer such a vision, there is little hope that it will be able to com- pete with its more ideological competitors. Offering such an account is all the more pressing as increasingly we move into a ‘values-based’ political and cultural discourse. In a profoundly rationalistic age, it is difficult for conservatives to appreciate that just because their position is not centred on a set of abstract principles, that does not mean it does not have a vigorous intellectual framework. In the course of developing a positive case for conservatism, I wanted to offer reasons to explain why conservatives deem certain aspects of the modern age undesirable, namely the spread of transnationalism and monoculture, what many see to be the ever-intensifying moral decline of their communities, and the rapid mechanisation and technologisation of society. To this end, I have coupled an historical case regarding the emer- gence of our conception of the human person with a theoretical case about the end for which we might claim to organise our lives and form