“It’s maybe less of a problem on the Protestant side right now, more in kind of niche Reformed circles.” Berry further affirmed that spiritual revival and renewal in the church cannot be manufactured; it’s a work of God, and all we can do is earnestly pray and faithfully preach his Word.

An increasingly influential and outspoken cohort of Christian post-liberals fault classical liberalism, with its stress on human rights like religious freedom and free speech, for societal decadence and decay. Roman Catholic scholars James Patterson and Thomas Howe, defenders of liberalism against illiberalism, recently interviewed Babylon Bee Managing Director Joel Berry to hear a Protestant response to postliberalism.

According to Berry, postliberalism especially coalesced after U.S. President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, thanks partly to support from Protestants and Evangelicals on the right. But once elected, they remained as dissidents rather than seeking to govern. Second, there are many factions on the right that oppose the left for different reasons and have different visions for America.

Amid these currents, Berry said, there is an emerging religious integralism; the integration of political authority and religious power. This is seen most notably among Catholics but also in the more Reformed circles of Protestantism, such as Calvinists, theonomists, and Christian nationalists. These groups are challenging the post-war narrative of America as the beacon of equality for all people.

“Things that we generally kind of accept as being part of the American ethos, they’re all being questioned now,” Berry noted.

Patterson responded that many Protestants view America as “my nation,” while Catholics, who’ve had a history of immigration, see America as a land ripe for cultivation after what they see as a failure of Protestant solutions.

Berry sees that Catholic perspective as part of the appeal.

“And I think that’s the big attraction that people have toward Catholicism right now is that our world is so chaotic,” Berry determined. “This post-truth, postmodern culture is so confusing and messed up.”

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