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.

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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.

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The 10 Years Since Obergefell Have Proven Its Critics Right

Nathanael Blake

The alarmists were right. Ten years after the Obergefell decision enacting same-sex marriage nationwide, its opponents — smeared then and now as…

Articles

The Federalist / June 20, 2025

Pride Month Is In Retreat, But We Need More Consistent Sexual Ethics

Nathanael Blake

Simone Biles, the gymnastics legend, picked a fight with women’s sports campaigner Riley Gaines, only to back down and apologize after a…

Articles

The Federalist / June 19, 2025

False Promises: Sexual Liberation Hurts Us All

Nathanael Blake

A new book details how the sexual revolution has backfired and has severely damaged Western society.

Articles

The Federalist / June 2, 2025

The Left Can’t Admit The Sexual Revolution Was Harmful Without Admitting Christians Were Right

Nathanael Blake

Religious conservatives are the only people to have retained a functioning normative anthropology that can both explain why the sexual revolution went so wrong and provide guidance on a better way to live.

Articles

The Federalist / May 23, 2025

Advice For The Class Of 2025: Never Put Your Hope In Earthly Kingdoms

Nathanael Blake

The Trump administration is crushing liberal hopes and dreams. For example, Frank Bruni, a New York Times columnist and journalism…

Articles

The Federalist / May 2, 2025

Largest-Known Abortion Pill Study Shows They’re Way More Dangerous Than We Knew

Nathanael Blake

‘The real-world rate of serious adverse effects following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times as high as’ the drug label suggests.

Articles

The Federalist / April 29, 2025

Andrew Tate and Conservatives’ Kierkegaard Trap

Nathanael Blake

Reflexive contrarianism is the root of much of the resurgence of anti-Semitism on the Right, as well as of many other bizarre reactionary opinions that now seem to be gaining traction in some circles. It is presumed that whatever most offends the powers that be is probably true, or at least a useful corrective to a one-sided establishment. Those who fall into this pattern tend to take contradiction and condemnation as confirmation that they are on to something—and as justification to further radicalize.

Articles

Public Discourse / March 30, 2025

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap

Nathanael Blake

OnlyFans and the deceptions of the sexual revolution

Articles

WORLD Opinions / March 26, 2025

Democrats Have A Manhood Problem, In More Ways Than One

Nathanael Blake

Almost no one believes the absurd tenets of transgender ideology. They pretend to believe because everyone around them is also pretending to believe.

Articles

The Federalist / March 24, 2025

Detrans Awareness Day Heralds A Reckoning For Transgender ‘Medicine’ Fraudsters

Nathanael Blake

Detransitioners’ lawsuits against the medical systems that hurt them could finally undo the industry’s embrace of transgenderism.

Articles

The Federalist / March 14, 2025

Sex and the post-Christian right

Nathanael Blake

Feminists are right to lament the popularity of Andrew Tate, but they don’t have a better alternative.

Articles

WORLD Opinions / March 11, 2025

Self-Government Requires Governing Ourselves

Nathanael Blake

Brad Littlejohn’s smart and provocative book, ‘Called to Freedom,’ examines the tension between Christian teaching and the secular ideal of political freedom.

Articles

The Federalist / March 6, 2025

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