John Quincy Adams Amongst the Postliberals

Religious nationalism seems to be experiencing a moment. The postliberal faction’s great tribune, Vice President J.D. Vance, occupies the second-highest constitutional office in the land. Its proponents in right-wing academic, cultural, and journalistic institutions are riding high in the saddle. But in American politics, more often than not, moments are fleeting. Consider, for instance, the so-called “libertarian moment” of the mid-2010s – some Republicans may have won elections deploying ideological rhetoric, and plenty of mainstream media outlets published glowing profiles of them, yet it all amounted to very little in terms of actual political change. 

Despite this fleetingness, it is easy for those of us dissatisfied with the reigning liberalism to look to the triumph of religious nationalists and want to join in. Even in these early days, after all, the new administration has already accomplished a number of social conservative priorities worth celebrating, especially executive orders implementing pro-life policies. But the history of religious nationalism in America provides a host of cautionary tales about compromising with this kind of power. Reactionary ideologues have occasionally seized control of the national stage, but only rarely have they held onto it for very long. 

One tragic example of this reactionary failure is America’s first conservative party, the Federalists. Originally formed to combat growing public disorder and ideological sympathy for the French Revolution, the Federalists experienced immense popularity in the face of radical opposition from Thomas Jefferson and his Republicans. As time wore on, however, the elite of the party became more and more committed to a religious nationalism that alienated them from the great body of the people. Only by rejecting this vortex of panicked extremism could conservatives such as John and John Quincy Adams maintain their principles and influence on the young republic. 

Read more in Mere Orthodoxy.