Parricidal Secular Liberalism

Secularized liberal thinkers kept liberal norms (individual rights, equality, progress) but rejected the Christian doctrines that originally justified those norms, producing a self‑undermining strain of liberalism that lacks internal warrant for its own commitments. The argument claims this 'parricide' explains modern liberalism’s legitimacy crisis and its weak response to dislocation from industrialization and technological change. — If true, it reframes debates over secularism, equality, and civic cohesion by insisting political principles need their theological or metaphysical grounding to remain persuasive and sustainable.