The Rise of "Kantian Christianity"Kraynak tracks how the Christian world went from historically opposing democracy to universally embracing it as the "only Christian form of government". He attributes this shift to the rise of what he calls "Kantian Christianity".Modern theologians (such as Jacques Maritain and Reinhold Niebuhr) sought to synthesize the Gospel with the Enlightenment. They created a "logic of harmony" arguing that Christian love naturally demands the recognition of universal human rights and democratic governance.Kraynak argues this was a fatal mistake. By attempting to "baptize" the Enlightenment, Christians accidentally adopted the secular premise of radical human autonomy. Rather than christianizing democracy, they democratized Christianity, stripping it of its transcendent authority
The Rise of "Kantian Christianity"
Kraynak tracks how the Christian world went from historically opposing democracy to universally embracing it as the "only Christian form of government". He attributes this shift to the rise of what he calls "Kantian Christianity". [1, 2]
- Modern theologians (such as Jacques Maritain and Reinhold Niebuhr) sought to synthesize the Gospel with the Enlightenment. They created a "logic of harmony" arguing that Christian love naturally demands the recognition of universal human rights and democratic governance. [1]
- Kraynak argues this was a fatal mistake. By attempting to "baptize" the Enlightenment, Christians accidentally adopted the secular premise of radical human autonomy. Rather than christianizing democracy, they democratized Christianity, stripping it of its transcendent authority
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