A Religion Guy™️ is a guy whose presence on social media is dedicated to Christian theology, metaphysics, hermeneutics, apologetics, and philosophy. An amateur theologian, usually brilliant, well educated, and intellectually serious, but one who never pursues the power necessary to enact the reforms he correctly recognizes are needed within his faith, regardless of denomination.
There is modest overlap with the tradcon grifter sphere and the stereotypical Wifeguy™️, who is often also a Girldad™️. They are usually older millennials or mid-generation millennials with a young family, a relatively stable income they secured before White men were further curbed from opportunities, and a decent, if imperfect, woman. They have a modest little life and have “made it” as far as the fundamentals of life go for most people. They may or may not advocate moving to an economically dead town and living in near poverty, sacrificing any hope of the upward mobility required to improve the chances of their children living better lives as socioeconomic conditions continue to decline. Unconsciously, they embody echoes of the boomer mentality.
Their online aliases are things like “Patriarch Matthew”, “American Templar”, “Catholic Crusader”, or “Emissary of Logos”. Their profile pictures are stained glass windows, knights, or low resolution medieval tapestries. Despite their curriculum vitae of endless thought provoking essays and articles spread across what was once WordPress, independent blogs, Substack, and X, they are not community builders or organizers. In a normal, sane society, they would probably be monks, scholars, priests, and eccentrics who achieve intellectual, philosophical, or theological breakthroughs.
But their mentality is always one of endless retreat or reinforcement. Abandon the cities. Abandon worldly pleasures. Abandon the things that make you human. Disregard the material world and prepare for the next. Let the cities, the polis, the beacon of civilization, perish to the barbarians because Christ has a plan in the end. He wins anyway, so why struggle? Why storm the institutions and take the churches back when you can simply capitulate to the Vatican, to Sola Scriptura, or to some other creed?
The solution is obviously the Germanization of Medieval Christianity by James C. Russell and The Saxon Saviour by Fr. G. Ronald Murphy, S.J. Yet their true bibles are LOTR and The Chronicles of Narnia. Their theologians are Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, whose heroism they take comfort in rather than emulate. The time for hardline reformers across all denominations is now, or they will not have a seat at the table in the fight to come.
The religious right’s horse will be hitched to the secular, muscular identitarian nationalists who already far outnumber them across the West. Their morality is not hindered by sentimentality about universal heavens. Moral questions such as abortion are increasingly not theirs to decide.
They will render unto Caesar.