Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism

"Many in elite circles yield to the temptation to believe that anyone who disagrees with them is a bigot or a religious fundamentalist. Reason and science, they confidently believe, are on their side. With this book, I aim to expose the emptiness of that belief." From the introduction: Assaults on religious liberty and traditional morality are growing fiercer. Here, at last, is the counterattack. Showcasing the talents that have made him one of America's most acclaimed and influential thinkers, Robert P. George explodes the myth that the secular elite represents the voice of reason. In fact, George shows, it is on the elite side of the cultural divide where the prevailing views frequently are nothing but articles of faith. Conscience and Its Enemies reveals the bankruptcy of these too often smugly held orthodoxies while presenting powerfully reasoned arguments for classical virtues.

About the Author :
Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. He has received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Bradley Prize for Intellectual and Civic Achievement, and the Canterbury Medal of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and has served on the President's Council on Bioethics. Professor George holds degrees from Swarthmore, Harvard, and Oxford.

Review :
"As a critic of liberalism, George is devastating. Generally attributing honest motives to his opponents, he nevertheless ruthlessly exposes [their] sophistries."--National Review "Puts George's highly burnished philosophical and constitutional learning on full display. . . . George speaks for a sizable number of conscientious objectors to America's ruling liberal secularism." --The New York Times Book Review "Not a dull or insignificant page in the whole volume. . . . I don't think we get better, or more consequential, commentary on the modern crisis." --The Washington Times "Could not be more timely. A treasure trove of thought-provoking reflections by one of the best minds of our time." --Mary Ann Glendon, from the foreword "Brilliant . . . Should be required reading." --Commentary "George's claim to that title ['This country's most influential conservative Christian thinker'] is made abundantly clear in this collection of incisive, accessible essays, which seek to expose and confront the dogmas of liberal secularism while also directing and deepening modern conservatism. . . . Intended for a wide audience, the book deserves one." --Claremont Review of Books "An important primer on the most pressing issues of our time . . . George's incomparable expertise will give even the most seasoned reader new insights." --The Catholic World Report "Few thinkers speak as clearly as Robert P. George. . . . He is a model democratic citizen. . . . The book offers some of the strongest arguments at all levels of public discourse, from anthropology to the meaning of conscience and marriage." --Library of Law and Liberty "One of the nation's most respected legal theorists. . . . Even people who profoundly disagree with some of his conclusions [respect] his sheer brilliance, the analytic power of his arguments, the range of his knowledge . . . [and] a deeply principled conviction, a profound and enduring integrity." --Elena Kagan, Supreme Court justice "One of the most incisive legal and moral thinkers working today." --First Things "An indispensable man." --Touchstone