by Rod Dreher
First published 2017
Christianity faces extinction across the West. Churches lose young members while secular culture attacks religious freedom. Political victories have vanished with gay marriage legalization and Republican Party failures. Rod Dreher argues that Christians must abandon political solutions and embrace an ancient alternative. He points to St. Benedict of Nursia, the sixth century monk who withdrew from Rome's collapse to build monastic communities. Benedict's followers preserved Christian faith through five centuries of darkness and laid groundwork for civilization's renewal. Dreher urges modern believers to create their own resilient communities. Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians must strengthen local churches, establish classical schools, rebuild family structures, and prepare survival strategies for persecution. The book outlines practical steps for building resistance against hostile secular forces. Christians can thrive in post-Christian America by rejecting shallow optimism and returning to tested traditions. The choice determines whether Western Christianity survives or dies.
Genres: history, politics, sociology, religion, non-fiction, christianity
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: return-to-tradition, survival
Setting: West, Rome
Period: 6th Century, 21st Century
262 pages · Hardcover · Sentinel