Rod Dreher is the pen name of American author and editor Raymond Oliver Dreher Jr.
Dreher is well-known for his work as a senior editor and blogger for the American Ideas Institute publication The American Conservative.
He has written other books as well. Among them are:
- How Dante Can Save Your Life
- The Benedict Option
- Live Not by Lies
For magazines and newspapers such as the National Review, The Weekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, Touchstone, Los Angeles Times, and others, the author has written about various subjects, including religion, cinema, politics, and culture.
He has become more well-known for his film reviews. He primarily writes reviews for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and serves as the New York Post’s top cinema reviewer.
His commentary has been featured on All Things Considered on National Public Radio and in syndications for CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, Court TV, and other outlets.
Learn about Rod Dreher’s divorce and his family background in this article in detail.
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Rod Dreher And Julie Harris Dreher Divorce Details
After being married in 1997, Rod Dreher and Julie Harris Dreher were divorced in 2022.
Together, the couple has three kids. He made it known that the divorce proceedings between the couple had begun in April 2022. In an interview with Deseret News, Dreher recently discussed his divorce and marriage difficulties.
The story claims that Dreher’s marriage started to break around when he was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune condition. Although he eventually recovered his health, his marriage never really recovered during the three to four years he was ill.
The author said that the last ten years had been unbearably painful, but he couldn’t talk about them in public.
In the spring of 2022, while Dreher was abroad in Budapest finishing up a second fellowship, Julie Harris Dreher filed for divorce. Dreher has claimed that he never saw it coming because the pair had never discussed or brought up divorce.
He has subsequently come to terms with the reality that although the author was stunned, he wasn’t surprised and that the quick divorce request highlighted how shattered things were.
Dreher has acknowledged that his faith has kept him sane during the separation. However, the author claimed in the same interview that the only thing that enables him to progress is his unwavering confidence that God is with him.
Dreher has nonetheless admitted that he regrets getting divorced.
| Spouse: | Julie Harris (1997 – 2022) |
Details On Rod Dreher’s Family
Rod Dreher, an American author, was born on February 14, 1967, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His parents named him after Ray Oliver Dreher, his father.
The boy was born and nurtured in the little hamlet of St. Francisville. He attended the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in Natchitoches, where he graduated in the inaugural class.
Dreher attended Louisiana State University in 1989 after completing his studies at the Louisiana School, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.
The author started as a television critic for the Washington Times. He eventually became an editor for the National Review and a top film critic for the New York Post.
After he wrote an essay about “granola conservatism,” a type of American conservatism, and published it in 2002, he started to get more attention.
The followers of this brand of conservatism, which upholds principles such as environmental protection, the preservation of traditional family values, and thrifty living, were labelled by Dreher as crunchy cons and traditional conservatives.
The author claims that these people also showed scepticism of free-market capitalism. He portrayed these traditionalist, religious con artists as conservative Protestants, Roman Catholics, or Eastern Orthodox.
When Dreher wrote a book that elaborated on his “manifesto” concepts, he solidified his ideas.
Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America is the lengthy title he gave to this book (or At Least the Republican Party).
What Is The Benedict Option?
When he began to write The Benedict Option, Rod Dreher found his voice as a writer and expanded his audience.
According to The Benedict Option, which he composed between 2015 and 2021, Christians who desire to uphold their religion should isolate themselves from a culture that is moving away from traditional Christian values.
Dreher argued that to escape society, Christians should establish intentional communities. They cited the Charlottesville, Virginia, Trinity Presbyterian Church as an example.
After Virtue, a 1981 book by Alasdair MacIntyre, gave Dreher the idea for “The Benedict Option.” The phrase alludes to the sixth-century monk Benedict of Nursia.
Dreher’s book The Benedict Option came out in 2017, and both the secular and religious press liked it. The Washington Post and The New Yorker, both well-known magazines, did author profiles on Dreher. The thoughts of the book ranged from positive to very negative.
For instance, David Brooks of the New York Times referred to it as the most talked-about and influential theological book of the decade while expressing concern that the division it promotes can breed prejudice, moral arrogance, and narrow-mindedness.
Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, also criticized the book for emphasizing LGBT relationships over other, perhaps more significant themes.
However, he added that the book is worthwhile to read because it provides answers to challenging problems in the same sentence.
Since the book has caused a lot of discussion among Christian groups, especially in the United States, many conferences have been held to discuss the ideas it promotes.
| Alma Mater: | Louisiana State University |
| Notable Work: | The Benedict Option (2017) |
| Political Party: | American Solidarity Party |
| Years Active: | 2002 – Present |
Rod Dreher’s Net Worth Explored
According to his books and other publications, American author Rod Dreher has a net worth of $1.5 million as of 2022.
Dreher has a sizable following as one of the foremost figures in contemporary Christian theology, at least in terms of pop culture, which helps to explain his wealth.
The man’s career, meanwhile, has not been without controversy. The man’s career has not only been plagued with controversy but has also been promoted by it because of the views and outdated beliefs he espouses.
Most of the disputes he has been involved in may be boiled down to his opinions on immigration, international affairs, race, and sexual orientation.
Dreher’s admission that he adheres to biblical Christian teachings on orientation and firmly believes that relationships between persons who share the same direction are not only sinful but also abnormal is an excellent illustration of the first.
The author has been fixated on expressing anxiety at the rising visibility of people who don’t fit the orientation binary in recent years.
However, when the US Supreme Court questioned him, he drew the most criticism for standing up for Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was accused of assaulting Christine Blasey Ford during his confirmation hearing in the early 1980s.
A guy shouldn’t be judged for what he did when he was 17 was Dreher’s justification, but the author failed to consider all the other women who accused Kavanaugh of wrongdoing.
Regarding race and immigration, Dreher authored a contentious blog article in 2014 after the tragic death of Michael Brown titled Tops for Not Getting Shot by Cops.
The author of the blog article claimed that Brown was a well-known lawbreaker who hung out with other criminals.
Dreher has consistently displayed an anti-immigrant and racist viewpoint, particularly toward African-Americans. The author claims that his position stems from what he believes to be a defence of western culture.
For instance, he seemed to have no rhyme or reason when he disparaged the funeral festivities for the African American singer Aaliyah. He also equated the arrival of Africans to Europe to an invasion by barbarians.
Last but not least, the author has consistently criticized Islam and its influence on world politics. He became one of America’s most well-known anti-Islam authors and thinkers after the September 11 attacks and wrote several essays attacking Islam.
In a nutshell, Dreher is a character who divides people because he has ideas and arguments that appeal to a particular group. It just so happens that the same social groups are hateful.
