Nathanael Blake

Fellow

Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Fellow in the Life and Family Initiative at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His research interests include American political theory, Christian political thought, and the intersection of natural law and philosophical hermeneutics. His published scholarship has included work on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Alasdair MacIntyre, Russell Kirk and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Read full bio.

Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Fellow in the Life and Family Initiative at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His research interests include American political theory, Christian political thought, and the intersection of natural law and philosophical hermeneutics. His published scholarship has included work on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Alasdair MacIntyre, Russell Kirk and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Dr. Blake grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and received an undergraduate degree in microbiology with a chemistry minor from Oregon State University. After working as a writer and editor in the pro-life movement, he enrolled in graduate studies at the Catholic University of America, earning a doctorate in political theory. His dissertation was titled: “Natural Law and History: The Use and Abuse of Practical Reason.” Blake was a Richard M. Weaver Fellow of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and taught American Government at Wheeling Jesuit University.

As a cultural commentator, Dr. Blake has published hundreds of articles at outlets including Public Discourse, World Opinions, The Federalist, The Catholic World Report, and National Review. His first book, Victims of the Revolution: How Sexual Liberation Hurts Us All, is forthcoming from Ignatius Press in Spring 2025.

An evangelical Christian, Blake helps lead worship at his church—he particularly enjoys playing old hymns on double bass.

Close bio

Dear GOP: Move on From Trump Without Repudiating His Voters

Nathanael Blake

Yes, the GOP needs a new leader. Yet the way to move on from Trump is to move on from Trump, instead of keeping the political world revolving around him.

Articles

The Federalist / May 18, 2021

The LGBT Rebellion Against the Body Is Making Casualties of More Foster Children

Nathanael Blake

Those bent on remaking bodies, language, and society to accord with their desires won’t persuade if they can command, or reason if they can suppress.

Articles

The Federalist / May 11, 2021

Lockdowns Have Spawned a New Addict: The Pandemic Junkie

Nathanael Blake

There are reasonable discussions and disagreements to be had over how to handle this final stretch of the pandemic in the United States. What we cannot allow is for our policies to be driven by pandemic junkies who are determined to keep getting their fix of fear and fake virtue.

Articles

The Federalist / May 10, 2021

Managerial Oligarchy: Why Conservatives Should Oppose Big Business

Nathanael Blake

As conservatives contemplate how to respond to the threat of managerial oligarchy, we should, of course, be humble—but we must not be so afraid of our own imperfections that we are paralyzed into acquiescence under an evil system.

Articles

Public Discourse / May 3, 2021

For Liberalism To Hold Any Meaning, Colleges Need Religious Exemptions

Nathanael Blake

Left-liberals must recognize that sustaining the bargain of liberalism in a time of big government and ascendant cultural leftism requires generous accommodations for traditional religious believers and their institutions.

Articles

The Federalist / April 17, 2021

The Wall Between Civilization And Our Innate Savagery Is Weakening

Nathanael Blake

Despite being surrounded by material abundance and wondrous gadgetry, human depravity still finds a way.

Articles

The Federalist / April 9, 2021

Humility Is Where Conservatives And Libertarians Can Still Find Fusion

Nathanael Blake

Conservatives and libertarians must both check their pride to work toward a new fusionism. Their common ground begins with humility.

Articles

The Federalist / March 26, 2021

Wanted: Republicans Willing To Betray The Ruling Class

Nathanael Blake

The GOP needs people who put a Harvard or Yale diploma in a cheap frame in the basement and then go stick it to their former classmates.

Articles

The Federalist / March 24, 2021

Why The Left Is Helping Make America Racist Again

Nathanael Blake

Self-styled anti-racists and social justice activists are seething with hate, but it is only upon love that we can move beyond racial tension and division.

Articles

The Federalist / March 18, 2021

The Left’s New Moral Framework Includes Zero Forgiveness, Even For Dr. Seuss

Nathanael Blake

Instead of a populace with a developed understanding of sin, and a prudent sense of what to punish and what to tolerate, we now have personal and social moral instability.

Articles

The Federalist / March 5, 2021

Responding to the Allure and Incoherency of Transgenderism

Nathanael Blake

Transgender ideology has powerful supporters, such as Amazon, but it is also weak.

Articles

The Catholic World Report / March 2, 2021