Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization. This item is unavailable.Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization

Western civilization’s genius is in its synthesis of reason and faith. These foundations are under assault today from Islamists and radical secularists. Unless Western society recovers its confidence in this synthesis and its capacity to magnify human freedom and achievement, our future is limited.

This sharp commentary on the rise and current decline of Western Civilization touches on historical moments—including the building of early universities in the Middle Ages and the American Revolution—and figures—including Augustine, Acquinas, Edmund Burke, and Adam Smith—that exemplify the faith-reason synthesis at the heart of Western Civilization, as well as the modern villains that threaten to destroy it. 

SAMUEL GREGG, the research director at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, writes and speaks on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He holds D.Phil. in moral philosophy and political economy from the University of Oxford. His previous books include For God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good and Becoming Europe.