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There’s been more substantial writing lately on Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option concept for Christian communities. I’ve written previously on the topic from my own perspective, relating to Christian naïveté, what we might learn from American Indian communities “cultural nests,” and traits for Catholic cultural nests. In short, the Benedict Option describes the necessity and means for … Continue reading More on cultural nests
Last month I wrote about American Indian “cultural nests” and how a similar idea known as the “Benedict Option” could work for American Catholic communities. The conviction driving Rod Dreher, most vocal proponent of the idea is that “Churches, families, and religious schools that don’t become ‘nests’ will not be recognizably Christian within this century.” … Continue reading Traits for Catholic cultural nests
Rod Dreher reflected recently on American Indian “cultural nests,” or ways to transmit the cultural knowledge of threatened languages and the attendant meaning of those languages to new generations. Dreher frames this by citing the nest as both an incubator and a refuge from predation, which in this case is the force of wider American/English … Continue reading Cultural nests
I came across this story about St. Ann parish’s credit union in the summer and have been meaning to share it for a while. A Catholic parish running its own credit union is something new to me, although I’ve since spoken to some priests who say it was more common in the 20th century in some places. … Continue reading Catholic credit unions
“A lot of the recent religious freedom debate has taken place in terms of conscience. … That’s important, but it’s also important to maintain the social and institutional space within which Christians can be formed,” he continued. “Conscientious believers aren’t hatched; they’re formed. They’re formed in communities, and we’ve got to get religious freedom protections so those … Continue reading Conscientious believers
