Reconfiguring American Civil Religion

Rick Santorum's target in his imagined battle for the American soul is Hillary Clinton, whose It Takes a Village (1996) was a bestselling vision of American society. These two public figures claim distinctive moral visions, each derived from sacred scriptures, American lore, and simple sociological understandings of a good society. However, Santorum's It Takes a Family is a radical vision for the common good--one that is not so easy to detect from the rather folksy and conciliatory tone of his writing. (It certainly helps to have a team of writers from an ideologically driven press, ISI Books, to help in the crafting of a book!) Santorum's good society starts with the family. However, the (the liberal elite who believe in Big Government) besiege the littles (local government, small businesses, local churches and schools, soccer teams) and tell them how to run their lives. Of course, these village elders are liberals like Hillary Clinton and other do-gooders who just don't understand that the natural family of father, mother, and children can manage on their own given their religious faith, a non-interfering government, and a free market. The littles can generate their own social, economic, moral, cultural, and intellectual capital if left unfettered. It Takes a Family is a fascinating read to understand the mind of a self-proclaimed compassionate conservative, Republican, and Roman Catholic. Knowing that Santorum is affiliated with both Opus Dei and the Jesuits, one would expect a more sophisticated excursion into the social doctrine of the

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