
Nathanael Blake
Postdoctoral Fellow
Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His primary research interests are 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. He is currently working on a study of Kierkegaard and labor. As a cultural observer and commentator, he is also fascinated at how our secularizing culture develops substitutes for the loss of religious symbols, meaning and order.
Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His primary research interests are 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. He is currently working on a study of Kierkegaard and labor. As a cultural observer and commentator, he is also fascinated at how our secularizing culture develops substitutes for the loss of religious symbols, meaning and order.
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 served as an adjunct professor of American Government at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Dr. Blake is a Senior Contributor to The Federalist, where he has published over 150 pieces since 2017. His work has been published in a variety of publications, including Public Discourse, The Catholic World Report, and National Review.
An evangelical Christian, Blake helps lead worship at his church—he particularly enjoys playing old hymns on double bass.
Yes, Pro-Lifers Should Cheer For Texas’s Winning New Unborn Protection Law
Nathanael Blake

Texas’s law will still be challenged in court, but abortion facilities in Texas may be closed or restricted during the legal battle.
Articles
The Federalist / September 7, 2021
A Supreme Court That Capitulates On Roe V. Wade Will Unleash A Whirlwind
Nathanael Blake

Roe v. Wade is the leading example of the Supreme Court acting as an unelected super-legislature and imposing its will on the nation, and upholding Roe will only further delegitimize the court.
Articles
The Federalist / August 30, 2021
Conservatism Doesn’t Mean Putting Whorehouses In Boys’ Pockets
Nathanael Blake

Conservatism is about preserving the true sources of human flourishing in this life — family, faith, and community — rather than tearing them down in the name of liberal ideology.
Articles
The Federalist / August 26, 2021
Leftists Are Living In A Fantasy World While Burning The Real One To The Ground
Nathanael Blake

Adding extreme social leftism to the usual political greed and stupidity has been catastrophic, from the military to education to border security.
Articles
The Federalist / August 19, 2021
Your ‘Fur-Babies’ Are Not A Good Or Healthy Replacement For Human Babies
Nathanael Blake

Replacing babies with pets stifles a person’s capacity to give and receive love, as it wrongly directs our greatest earthly affections toward ourselves.
Articles
The Federalist / August 6, 2021
The Left Essentially Exists To Make Your Entire Life Worse
Nathanael Blake

Leftist ideologues are the nation’s scolds, afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun in a way that offends the ever-shifting demands of diversity and inclusion.
Articles
The Federalist / July 28, 2021
I Take My Non-Catholicism Seriously: Reflections on Not Receiving the Eucharist
Nathanael Blake

The point of the Catholic Church is to be the Catholic Church, and some of us appreciate that, even in disagreement. As for those who want Unitarian beliefs with Catholic ceremony, they are welcome to join the Episcopalians.
Articles
The Catholic World Report / July 20, 2021
The Transgender Industry Is Culling Tomboys Out Of Existence
Nathanael Blake

The biggest sources of sex stereotypes and strict gender roles in America today are the trans movement and its allies.
Articles
The Federalist / July 19, 2021
The Left Shouldn’t Get Away With Constant Flopping
Nathanael Blake

Whatever the issue, from immigration to education to law enforcement, there is a parade of people taking a dive and crying foul, insisting the other side isn’t just wrong, but bigoted.
Articles
The Federalist / July 14, 2021
‘Trans Mission’ Raises Questions LGBT Activists Refuse To Answer About Transgendering Kids
Nathanael Blake

Transgenderism escalated quickly. As it burst into the nation’s consciousness just more than half a decade ago, we were told the trans movement was about being kind to Bruce as he became Caitlyn. Now we are told that it is about supporting the sterilization and castration of children.
Articles
The Federalist / July 1, 2021
Left Demands That Big Business Boycott States That Don’t Want Abortion
Nathanael Blake

The managerial oligarchy, along with its enablers, advocates, and hangers-on, believes that it has the right to rule the rest of us — government by the wealthy and connected, for the wealthy and connected, and of the wealthy and connected.
Articles
The Federalist / June 16, 2021
How Transgender Ideology Takes Children Hostage
Nathanael Blake

Many who — rightly — want to be compassionate toward those diagnosed with gender dysphoria have been reluctant to challenge the demands of transgender activists. But genuine compassion depends on truth, and the truth is that the claims of transgenderism are fundamentally mystical, even magical, rather than medical.
Articles
National Review Online / June 10, 2021