NOTE: Matthew Loftus and Susannah Black assisted with the creation of this quiz.

Given the popularity of last week’s post indexing the various political theologies Christians might adopt today, we have created a quiz to help you figure out where you fit with the various options discussed last week.

One note: If you get “Liberal Protestant,” keep in mind that we don’t mean “theological liberal.” This is not a quiz about creedal orthodoxy, but about social order and how you understand Christian political theology. So you can be an entirely orthodox Christian and get “Liberal Protestant” on this quiz because you are on board with classical liberalism. If you’re more “Daniel Option” than “Benedict Option,” you probably are a Liberal Protestant as we’re defining our terms here.

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Posted by Jake Meador

Jake Meador is the editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy. He is a 2010 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he studied English and History. He lives in Lincoln, NE with his wife Joie, their daughter Davy Joy, and sons Wendell, Austin, and Ambrose. Jake's writing has appeared in Commonweal, Christianity Today, Fare Forward, the University Bookman, Books & Culture, First Things, National Review, Front Porch Republic, and The Run of Play and he has written or contributed to several books, including "In Search of the Common Good," "What Are Christians For?" (both with InterVarsity Press), "A Protestant Christendom?" (with Davenant Press), and "Telling the Stories Right" (with the Front Porch Republic Press).

22 Comments

  1. Alastair J Roberts May 1, 2017 at 10:59 am

    Post-Liberal Protestantism.

    Reply

    1. Susannah Black May 2, 2017 at 12:08 pm

      shocker

      Reply

      1. Alastair J Roberts May 2, 2017 at 7:08 pm

        I am a man of surprises.

        Reply

  2. No fair! There are no options for us Reformed Anarcho-Capitalists.

    Reply

    1. I typed out my own answers here:

      1- Reformed

      2- Protect the lives and property of the people.

      3- Partly good and partly bad. It depends on how you define the classic liberal order. Do we mean principles like individual liberty, free markets, freedom from coercion? Great. Do we mean nationalism, economic protectionism, the welfare state? Bad.

      4 and 5- The church should prophetically rebuke the state whenever necessary but the church has no power to bind the state and the state has no power to bind the church. The two are separate spheres of authority. (The family is a third sphere of authority, incidentally, and none of the three should presume to do the job of another.)

      6- Should be made truly liberal (in the sense of free).

      7- See answer 2 above

      8- Having nothing to do with it. The state should not issue marriage licenses at all. Since there should be no such thing as income taxes the federal government, it shouldn’t concern the state to determine who is or isn’t married. Divorce cases can be handled by private courts.

      9- As agents of a nation-state fighting under standard criteria. (That said, I would also add that I cannot think of a time when the U.S. was engaged in a war that met all the just war criteria.)

      10- Is nonexistent

      11- Part of our calling to fulfill Genesis 1.

      12- The Mayor of the Shire (whose main duty is to preside at fairs and parties.)

      Reply

  3. Fr. Steven Clark May 1, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    Is there a quiz here? Where is the link?

    Reply

  4. Liberal Revanchism although being a market anarchist makes some of these options somewhat problematic.

    Reply

  5. Radical Anabaptist, at least in terms of political theology. Even so, I’m not all that negative concerning neoliberalism’s ability to provide a sufficient basis upon which to build an orderly society.

    Reply

    1. I took it again and, on questions where I was on the fence, I answered the opposite way. I came out as a Liberal Protestant this time. That’s probably about right. I believe in a healthy pluralism, where people largely stick to their own tribe and access social capital within the tribe. I believe in a rather thin common culture that is purely secular and operates on the harm principle. I have no interest in culture-wide normative institutions, as they tend to create inefficiencies and get in the way of creative destruction.

      Reply

  6. Where is the link? Where is the quiz?

    Reply

    1. Your browser is probably out of date, or has its options set to block the link to the quiz.

      Reply

      1. OK, I’ll check that out.

        Reply

  7. daniel michael May 1, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    Can’t find the quiz link?

    Reply

  8. Laura Kellner May 2, 2017 at 8:13 am

    Yeah. THIS was inclusive. I got radical Anabaptist. I’M A FREAKING DRUID.

    Reply

  9. I see no quiz. I disabled ad blocker but still don’t see the module. Hmm…?

    Reply

  10. How are there six answers but not six options for each question? That just guarantees some people will have to click stuff they don’t agree with. Also where’s liberation theology and do you really think the only Catholic politics is one that wants to burn heterics? waaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
    I got radical anabaptist but im pretty sure i clicked Calvinist or Catholic answers to some of them.

    Reply

  11. For this Methodist to end up a “Radical Anabaptist” seems a bit strange. But then, the questions were a bit strange. Usually I could not agree with any question in the particular set.

    To me, the process was not the least bit helpful.

    Reply

  12. Diana Peterson May 3, 2017 at 11:13 am

    It’s too limited. I was willing to play, but the first two questions immediately offered me no answers that fit. It’s very tightly assumed that the quiz taker goes to Church and has one of three beliefs about an existant God. It eliminates vast swathes of religiosity and atheism.

    Reply

  13. Sancrucensis May 3, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    This quiz is beautiful.

    Reply

  14. […] In an intelligent piece on six different Christian responses to political liberalism, Jake Meador,  the energetic editor of Mere Orthodoxy, vice-president of The Davenant Trust, proper football blogger, and old-fashioned Magisterial Protestant, gives serious attention to Catholic Integralism. He also features Catholic Integralism in an amusing quiz: What Political Theology Are You? […]

    Reply

  15. […] Christians and Culture: Quiz: What Political Theology Are You? […]

    Reply

  16. […] There’s also a fun quiz that goes with the article which will tell you what camp you fall […]

    Reply

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