The Benedict Option: Why the religious right is considering an all-out withdrawal from politics

The rising acceptance of same-sex marriage has pushed religious conservatives into an existential corner

Preserving beliefs in isolation.
(Image credit: (Robert Postma/First Light/Corbis))

Have you heard of the Benedict Option? If not, you will soon.

It's the name of a deeply pessimistic cultural project that's capturing the imaginations of social conservatives as they come to terms with the realization that the hopes and assumptions that animated the religious right over the past 35-odd years have been dashed by the sweeping triumph of the movement for same-sex marriage.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.