The New Catholic Left

Last updated on: October 3, 2016 at 9:09 am by Matthew Tyson

The New Catholic Left 2016-10-03T09:09:17-05:00 Matthew Tyson

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Something interesting is brewing within Catholic culture.

Bleeding out from the realms of Distributism and the American Solidarity Party, and no doubt influenced by the heavy CST focus of Pope Francis’ papacy (as well as the absurdity of the Trump campaign), a new Catholic Left seems to be emerging.

Though fractured and decentralized, this movement occupies space all over the spectrum—from party affiliated Democrats (Democrats for Life*) to full blown Marxists (The Tradinistas) to the more left leaning independents who tend reject labels all together (see Patheos bloggers Chase Padusniak, Rebecca Weiss).

While diversity among members does exist, the general ideology is a mixed bag of social liberalism, religious orthodoxy, and blatantly left-wing approach to economics and class structure. Perhaps most importantly, however, is the willingness to openly proclaim one’s identity as both a truly devout Catholic and a Leftist. And it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Writers from around the Catholic blogosphere have weighed in, both positively and negatively, on the left wing rebirth. More recently, Matthew Schmitz at First Things commented on the rise of “a new kind of Catholic leftist”, while John Zmirak took to the Tradinistas with his trademark spite and cynicism.

It should surprise no one familiar my own writing that I find this new movement to be a good and necessary breath of fresh air, and I proudly count myself among its members.

For too long, many Catholics—especially millennials—have been caught in an ideological vacuum, rejecting the economic and social views of the Right, but unwilling to be as liberal with theology as Protestant Progressive Christians. To make matters worse, the culture wars have painted “left” and “right” identities with such broad strokes that it’s become tremendously difficult to have an honest conversation—but it’s a conversation that must take place.

Religion and leftist thought do not have to be in opposition to one another, especially in the 21st century. The culture has shifted. The Cold War is over. Atheistic Soviet Communism is no longer the terrifying gold standard for left-wing ideology. Moreover, American politics are changing, and this movement provides a much-needed outlet for modern left leaning Catholics.

The seeds are planted; all we need now is a little organization.

*While Democrats for Life of America has a robust Catholic membership, it is not a specifically Catholic organization and accepts members of all religious, or non-religious, backgrounds.

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