Skip to content
Facebook Instagram YouTube Email

Log in.

Scholé Sisters
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • Shop
Join Sistershp
Scholé Sisters
The Idol of Our Age

The Idol of Our Age

Author: Daniel Mahoney
Tags: #52, #52 Scholé Every Day, Eric Hall, Guest Picks

This book is a learned essay at the intersection of politics, philosophy, and religion. It is first and foremost a diagnosis and critique of the secular religion of our time, humanitarianism, or the “religion of humanity.” It argues that the humanitarian impulse to regard modern man as the measure of all things has begun to corrupt Christianity itself, reducing it to an inordinate concern for “social justice,” radical political change, and an increasingly fanatical egalitarianism. Christianity thus loses its transcendental reference points at the same time that it undermines balanced political judgment. Humanitarians, secular or religious, confuse peace with pacifism, equitable social arrangements with socialism, and moral judgment with utopianism and sentimentality.

With a foreword by the distinguished political philosopher Pierre Manent, Mahoney’s book follows Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in affirming that Christianity is in no way reducible to a “humanitarian moral message.” In a pungent if respectful analysis, it demonstrates that Pope Francis has increasingly confused the Gospel with left-wing humanitarianism and egalitarianism that owes little to classical or Christian wisdom. It takes its bearings from a series of thinkers (Orestes Brownson, Aurel Kolnai, Vladimir Soloviev, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn) who have been instructive critics of the “religion of humanity.” These thinkers were men of peace who rejected ideological pacifism and never confused Christianity with unthinking sentimentality. The book ends by affirming the power of reason, informed by revealed faith, to provide a humanizing alternative to utopian illusions and nihilistic despair.

More info →
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
The Idol of Our Age
Buy now!

Be the first to know when the next podcast is live!

Subscribe to our podcast!

Apple PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS

Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Conversations Galore

Affections Anthropology Apply Faithfully Aristotle Authority Boys C.S. Lewis Charlotte Mason Christmas Classical Classics Community Curriculum Definitions Dialectic Dorothy Sayers Educational Metaphors Habit High School Homeschooling Humility Karen Glass Latin Laughter Liberal Arts Love Motherhood Motivation Multiculturalism Ordo Amoris Parenting Philosophy Plato Podcast Pre-Reading Reading Retreat Rewards Scholé Self-Education Socratic Discussion teaching Thinking Virtue Wonder

© 2025 Scholé Sisters · Scribe theme by Restored 316

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • Shop
Search