Western civilization's abandonment of rational religion has led to alliance with power-worshipping ideologies
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Power, Islamism, and the Crisis of Western Rationality | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." May 10, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author argues that Western civilization succeeded because it combined religious faith with rational thinking, but modern Western leftists have abandoned this balance. Now they're allying with Islamic extremists because both groups worship raw power instead of truth and morality, which threatens to destroy the very civilization that created unprecedented freedom and prosperity.
Conclusion
The West's rejection of the rational religious tradition that built its civilization has created a dangerous alliance between the post-rational Left and Islamists, both united by worship of power rather than truth and moral restraint
Premises
- Islam turned away from rational philosophy in the medieval period, choosing to prioritize divine omnipotence over natural law and reason
- Western elites dismissed religion as irrelevant and treated Islamism as a spent force, failing to understand its power-worshipping nature
- The modern Left has abandoned rational considerations in favor of woke mythology and tribal identity politics based on power dynamics
- Despite ideological differences, the Left allies with Islamists because both worship power as the ultimate value rather than truth or moral principles
- Medieval Christianity and Judaism successfully integrated faith and reason, creating the foundation for Western civilization's achievements in freedom, prosperity, and inquiry
- The American religious tradition historically balanced faith with rational inquiry and moral restraint, creating unprecedented human flourishing
- The Left's neo-Jacobin rejection of traditional narratives has led them to embrace the very oppressive practices they once opposed when practiced by Islamist regimes
Assumptions
- Rational religion (faith integrated with reason) is superior to both pure secularism and irrational fundamentalism
- Western civilization's achievements stem from its synthesis of religious faith with rational inquiry
- Power worship is inherently destructive to human flourishing and civilization
- The American founding tradition represents the optimal balance between religion and reason
- Current Western elites have fundamentally misunderstood both religion and rationality