--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not a post-liberal and I do not…" description: "\"I am not a post-liberal and I do not think that such a return to full 19th-century anticlericalism inevitable or even likely - which is one reason amon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/ross-douthat-2949_conservatives_i-am-not-a-post-liberal-and-i-do-not-thi_3096579.png" --- # I am not a post-liberal and I do not think that such a… ![“I am not a post-liberal and I do not think that such a return to full 19th-century anticlericalism inevitable or even likely - which is one reason among many that I doubt the bargain many religious conservatives have made with Donald Trump.” quote by Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/ross-douthat-2949_conservatives_i-am-not-a-post-liberal-and-i-do-not-thi_3096579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/ross-douthat-2949_conservatives_i-am-not-a-post-liberal-and-i-do-not-thi_3096579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/ross-douthat-2949_conservatives_i-am-not-a-post-liberal-and-i-do-not-thi_3096579.png) > “I am not a post-liberal and I do not think that such a return to full 19th-century anticlericalism inevitable or even likely - which is one reason among many that I doubt the bargain many religious conservatives have made with Donald Trump.” [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author doubts that a revival of 19th‑century anticlericalism will happen and questions the alliance between religious conservatives and Donald Trump. **In simple terms:** Skeptical about a full return to old anti‑church sentiment and political deals. Key Takeaway Question political alliances and historical trends. Themes politics religion history skepticism alliances Mood cautious analytical Type opinion political When to use this quote - election cycles - policy debates - faith‑based voting - party strategy Key Concepts political theory secularism American conservatism Questions to Reflect On - Will religious conservatives continue to support Trump? - What could trigger a true anticlerical resurgence? A Different Perspective The analysis may overlook grassroots religious movements gaining momentum. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [Trump appears to some as too simulated, too much a spectacle. But all authorized politics is spectacle. 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Reed, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-e-reed-jr/) > [Independent of the critique I'm making, I'm just trying to paint a more comprehensive portrait of American religion than you get from a right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/independent-of-the-critique-i-m-making-i-m-just-trying-to-paint-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [We have plenty of examples from twentieth-century history where, out of fear of liberalism or Communism, religious conservatives made alliances with secular populists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/we-have-plenty-of-examples-from-twentieth-century-history-where-out/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [I hardly know an intellectual man, even, who is so broad and truly liberal that you can think aloud in his society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-hardly-know-an-intellectual-man-even-who-is-so-broad-and-truly/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a liberal, but I think there's so much that the private sector can do and does do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-m-a-liberal-but-i-think-there-s-so-much-that-the-private-sector-can/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [I consider myself a logical person and, you know, a lot of people try to categorize me in one way or another. 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I think when someone falls into one category for everything, I'm very suspicious. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/some-things-i-think-are-very-conservative-or-very-liberal-i-think/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [I'd actually call myself pretty much a liberal. A progressive liberal. Because I do think that government is there to be a provider of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-hefner/i-d-actually-call-myself-pretty-much-a-liberal-a-progressive-liberal/) [Christie Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-hefner/) > [“This book aims, in part, to help reverse the lamentable public retreat of religious liberals in recent decades. Yet, religious liberalism on the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-b-rasor/this-book-aims-in-part-to-help-reverse-the-lamentable-public-retreat/) Paul B. 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There have always been figures like Oprah Winfrey, let's put it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/the-american-intelligentsia-has-been-pretty-secular-for-a-long-time/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [On the evidence we have, the meritocratic ideal ends up being just as undemocratic as the old emphasis on inheritance and tradition, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/on-the-evidence-we-have-the-meritocratic-ideal-ends-up-being-just-as/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“The physical vanity of the diet-and-exercise obsessive is recast as the pursuit of a kind of ritual purity, hedged about with taboos and guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/the-physical-vanity-of-the-diet-and-exercise-obsessive-is-recast-as/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [There were times at Harvard when I actually longed to hang out with a few more Trotskyists, rather than yet another set of future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/there-were-times-at-harvard-when-i-actually-longed-to-hang-out-with-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [Many things about American life, that even secular people consider good, have flowed from the presence of a robust, resilient institutional Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/many-things-about-american-life-that-even-secular-people-consider/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“What he felt during his Spanish encounter with left-wing anti-Christianity was similar to his reactions to the anti-Christianity of the right. 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