Paul Kingsnorth's critique of "Christian Civilisation" given in a talk at the 'First Things Erasmus Lecture' (and then published here in First Things as an article) is provocative and interesting. Because civilisation is incidentally Christian the temptation is then to imperialise it and neglect the Kingdom.
Democracy, the scientific method and free-speech etc are a natural and good parts of this world (Romans 1:20) which, as per Tom Holland's thesis, are magnified or highlighted by Christianity. The American balance of powers, the Magna Carta, freedom of religion, civic-nationalism etc are all positive by-products of the Kingdom of Heaven, and may fluctuate depending on the rise and fall of human empires and trends. God's church will continue, his Kingdom will survive regardless of our machinations. Which is the other interesting part of his critique. Some of us (including myself) were upset by government overreach during the COVID years. If 'Christian Nationalism / Civilisation' became ascendent that same government machinery that imposes various rules on us would be employed to enforce whatever version of Christianity the person or people on top decided to impose. ('Same enforcers and enforcement, new management') - Take VEOHRC for example; you can see the original divine / (& then) Christian virtues in seeking justice for the disabled and elderly etc. Now its bureaucracy is weaponized to hunt down gender and sexuality wrong-think. But if the Mormons (who are lovely & organised but heretics) take over, I don't want them running VEOHRC and imposing their version of what is correct and using the machinary of managmenet to impose their version of the summum bonum.
Most criticism of Kingsnorth's thesis seems to divideo into two categories. The type of criticism says 'he overlooks / downplays how Christians should interact with or build insitutions'. A combination of we all can't live in caves or monastaries plus Francis Schaeffer's question of "How then should we live?" The other category of criticism says the alternatives Islamic theocracy, secular Chinese Communism or technocractic Optimistic Nihilism are no better and maybe in some cases worse. And they're valid criticisms. In way there it's constant unresolved tension at a local and global level until the Return of Jesus.