SOURCE: East, John P. “Russell Kirk as a Political Theorist.” Modern Age 28, no. 1 (winter 1984): 33-44.

In the following essay, East examines the manner in which matters of the spirit, specifically Christian humanism, inform Kirk's political theory.

Born on October 19, 1918, in Plymouth, Michigan, the son of Russell and Marjorie Kirk, Russell Amos Kirk was destined to become the principal intellectual founder of the American conservative movement in the post-World War II era. Graduating from Michigan State College (now University) in 1940, he received his Master's degree from Duke University in 1941. A doctoral degree was conferred upon him by Saint Andrews University, Scotland, in 1952. He married Annette Courtemanche in 1964, and they are the parents of four daughters. The family resides on the Kirk ancestral property in Mecosta, Michigan, known as Piety Hill.

Kirk was the founding editor of Modern Age, which he edited from 1957 until 1959. In 1960 he founded and has since...