Citizens Yet Strangers

Join author Dr. Kenneth Craycraft for a discussion of his new book, Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America.

It’s hard—and getting harder—to discern the proper relationship between our Catholic Faith and American political life. Democrat, Republican, third party, or independent—how do we make sense of it all? Dr. Craycraft’s book resets the framework of how we engage with politics as Catholics. He argues that American Catholics have been more influenced by classical liberal political theory (of both the “conservative” and “liberal” variety) than by historic Catholic moral theology. While some incidental policy positions of the Democratic and Republican parties converge with Catholic moral teaching, for most Catholics, their respective positions are directed by their party affiliation, not by Catholic moral doctrine.

The author will discuss how Catholic theology transcends partisan politics, and he challenges Catholics to move away from the individualist liberal impulses of American political identity, whether on the left or the right. Avoiding the common clichés that prevent us from examining the role our faith should play in our public actions, this book dives deeper into the very way we orient our moral and political lives.

The event will be offered both in-person and virtually through YouTube.

Please RSVP today! The book will be on sale at the Catholic Information Center.

June 24th Schedule:

• 6:00-7:00 PM: Talk by Kenneth Craycraft (this portion will be live-streamed)
• 7:00-8:00 PM: Book signing and reception
• 8:00pm: Conclusion

About the Book:

Reseting the framework of how we engage with politics as Catholics.

In the midst of rapidly changing social norms, the challenges of Catholic public witness in the United States have become increasingly more difficult and frustrating. Making matters worse, Catholics can be found on both sides of polarizing cultural and political issues, each side thinking theirs is the only possible position for a Catholic to hold. We cannot even convince our fellow Catholics of the rationale for our contradictory policy positions. If we cannot communicate with other Catholics, it should be no surprise when we find ourselves mute against the broader culture. The purpose of this book is to address this precarious situation as a symptom of the same basic problem: namely, that we have abandoned (or forgotten) the moral language of Catholicism and replaced it with a moral dialect that leads inevitably to failure and frustration.