# Murray Rothbard's religious affiliation?



## RamistThomist (Jul 25, 2013)

I am not an Austrian libertarian, though I admit most of what they say seems cogent. Further, the Mises Institute has done what few institutions have had the common sense to do: they put their material for cheap or free and in reach of the common man. I reject their libertarian ethic, and its paganism comes out in even fine works like _Economic Thought Before Adam Smith_. What was Murray Rothbard's religious affiliation? I gather he was something like nominal pagan Jew before an end of life conversion to Catholicism. But that might have been hear-say.


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## arapahoepark (Jul 25, 2013)

He was an atheist but didn't object to others' religious beliefs like the new atheists.


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## Pilgrim (Jul 25, 2013)

An end of life conversion by Rothbard to Catholicism or any form of theism at all would be news to me. But as Trent notes, he was not like the new atheists and was also not as antagonistic toward organized religion as Ayn Rand was. 

Frank Meyer converted to Roman Catholicism at the very end of his life. But I don't think many will confuse the father of fusionism with Rothbard, who was alternately identified with the New Left and paleoconservatism. Many paleocons are RC, however.


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## ZackF (Jul 25, 2013)

Cameronian said:


> I am not an Austrian libertarian, though I admit most of what they say seems cogent. Further, the Mises Institute has done what few institutions have had the common sense to do: they put their material for cheap or free and in reach of the common man. I reject their libertarian ethic, and its paganism comes out in even fine works like _Economic Thought Before Adam Smith_. What was Murray Rothbard's religious affiliation? I gather he was something like nominal pagan Jew before an end of life conversion to Catholicism. But that might have been hear-say.




Rothbard was as an atheist. His wife was a committed Catholic. Rothbard and Rand were friends, both moving in NYC Libertarian circles circa 1950s. There is an anecdote at such a get-together when Rand found out that Rothbard was married to a devout Catholic, Rand said, "you should divorce her" or words to that effect. Rothbard left and that episode pretty much signaled a parting of the ways for the two authors. Rothbard was very likeable and classy. Rand, though very bright, was an extremely difficult and demanding person.


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## ZackF (Jul 25, 2013)

Most formal Austrian economics is descriptive rather than prescriptive. That's praxology. Especially Rothbard. Rothbard could indeed be polemical but that is from his application of AE and not from its formulation per se. There is a huge and even nasty battle going on in conservative Catholic circles between Tom Woods (I am a fan of his I admit) and other AE sympathizing Catholic intellectuals and the Catholic Distributist Schools. Google it if you are interested.


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