House Speaker Mike Johnson has defended the ‘Judeo-Christian tradition’ as key to Western civilization while laying out an optimistic vision for the future.
In his first international speech, newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) laid out several key concepts for delivering an “optimistic vision” for the future of America, including drawing on the “Judeo-Christian tradition” that he said has helped guide the “extraordinary heritage” of Western civilization.
Mr. Johnson made the remarks in a virtual speech (above) he gave on Oct. 30 to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’s inaugural conference in London.
“I believe God brings leaders together to address certain challenges,” he told the audience, with his remarks recalling his first speech last week as House Speaker, in which he told his fellow lawmakers in Congress he believes that “God is the one that raises up those in authority” and that “each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great nation.”
Mr. Johnson’s unapologetically theistic world view has ruffled some feathers on the left. For instance, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized Mr. Johnson in an episode of “Inside With Jen Psaki” on Sunday, labelling him as a “religious fundamentalist” and “a bit of a humblebrag” for saying that he feels called upon by God to serve his country.
But far from backing down in the face of criticism, Mr. Johnson defended his faith and the contribution that the values that underpin it have had on Western civilization in his speech on Monday.
After expressing his belief that divine forces are at play when leaders are brought together to address challenges, he said that now is the time to “begin the challenging work of pushing back on the failed visions that currently plague the West.”
Some of the problems gripping America and vexing Western civilization include bad governance on the part of political leaders, a lack of public confidence in institutions, deep and destructive political divisions, and a “crisis of identity” in the West as a whole.
By Tom Ozimek
