Idolatry of Identity

In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. In Lecture 1, Dr. Petrusek identifies the ideological components that constitute progressivism and examines what makes contemporary progressive ideology attractive. He also demonstrates how progressivism both appropriates and distorts competing political theories—and yokes those distortions into the service of a particular group’s self-interest. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

Lecture 2 examines the first piece of progressivism’s ideological corpus: classical liberalism and libertarianism. Dr. Petrusek discusses the common roots of these two political ideologies in the enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, as well as their shared conclusion that individual autonomy is the sole foundation of morality and politics. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In Lecture 3, Dr. Petrusek explains how the ideological family that constitutes progressivism has roots not only in classical liberalism and libertarianism but also in their ideological enemy—utilitarianism. The focus of this lecture is the relationship between utilitarianism and progressivism, and on the two features of utilitarianism that progressivism appropriates. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In Lecture 4, we turn to another foundational ideological influence: post-modernism. Post-modernism is a once-obscure academic theory that progressivism has fed off, altered, and now made politically mainstream. It rejects the existence of objectively true definitions and true beliefs, making it thoroughly self-contradictory and self-refuting. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

Lecture 5 turns to another ideology called post-colonialism. Like post-modernism, post-colonialism adopts and politically weaponizes moral relativism. However, as we see, it adds an additional dimension that progressivism also finds useful in advancing its political goals: a division of the world into two—and only two—contending groups: oppressors vs. the oppressed. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In Lecture 6, we’ll examine how certain elements of post-colonialism embedded in progressivism explain the approach of the massively influential political advocacy group “Black Lives Matter.” In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In Lecture 7, Dr. Petrusek sheds light on the shadow side of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” as he explains how all the widely disparate strands of progressivism/wokeism find a tenuous but politically potent unity in the concept of “intersectionality.” In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

Hearing and heeding the cry of the poor and those suffering injustice, in its many forms, is central to the Church’s evangelical mission. In this lecture, we now turn from analysis and critique of progressivism’s ideological influences to a constructive response that draws on the rich resources of the Catholic social thought tradition. Dr. Petrusek discusses justice, telling the truth, and moral relativism. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In the Catholic social thought tradition, all human beings, without exception, are made morally equal in the image and likeness of God, and all human beings, without exception, are mired in sin—chief among them the sin of pride. Lecture 9 explains how the Catholic social thought tradition can respond to progressivism’s dangerously utopian ideal of social perfection and its faulty understanding of human dignity. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”

In the final lecture, Dr. Petrusek examines progressivism’s problem with evading hypocrisy and how it undermines freedom of speech. We conclude with the Catholic response both to these problems and to the overarching issue that bedevils the entire progressive-wokeist enterprise: the idolatry of group identity. In this lecture series, Dr. Matthew Petrusek discusses contemporary progressive ideology, also frequently referred to as “wokeism,” and the response of the Catholic social thought tradition. Learn more about the antidote to ideology in Dr. Petrusek’s course “Catholic Social Ethics: The Antidote to Ideology.”