Joyous Surrender: A Rhapsody in Red (and Green)
Christmas isn’t tasteful, isn’t simple, isn’t clean, isn’t elegant. Give me the tacky and the exuberant and the wild, to represent the impossibly boisterous fact that God has intruded in this world.
Christianity and American Political Thought
A new book examines the philosophical and religious roots of American government. Amid scholarly disagreement, one thing is clear: America is a nation founded upon the truth of human freedom and equality—whether one arrives at this truth by way of Calvin or Locke.
Gay Weddings and the Shopkeeper’s Dilemma
One option for pro-marriage business owners: obey the law and serve gay weddings, but make it known publicly that you believe that the law forcing you to do this is unjust, needs to be changed, and is obeyed only out of your respect for law and the democratic process.
Leo Strauss and American Conservatism
Contrary to popular belief, Leo Strauss was not a conservative, let alone a neoconservative. Yet Strauss and conservatism share an important aim: challenging the dogmatic dismissal of the past as irrelevant to our flourishing in the present.
Catholic Higher Education in Ruins
The dream of a sex-positive socialist Catholicism based on Marx and liberation theology tells kids to stop complaining when they suffer the consequences of adults’ sexual selfishness. Sexual radicalism and extreme pro-LGBT advocacy have no positive role to play in Catholic higher education.
Conservatism after Obama
Instead of simply reacting to modern liberalism’s advances, it’s time for conservatives to consider what their own fundamental transformation of America would look like.
Thomas Aquinas in China
Thomas Aquinas’s commitment to the importance of reason and its universal role in defining what it means to be human makes him an attractive thinker for contemporary Chinese scholars.
Seven Things I Wish My Pastor Knew About My Homosexuality
May I make two requests? Love me, but remember that you cannot be more merciful than God. It isn’t mercy to affirm same-sex acts as good. Don’t compromise truth; help me to live in harmony with it.
Why Republicans Need to Change the Way They Talk about Immigration
By purifying their party of imprudent rhetoric, Republicans will be better able to identify adequate immigration policies, win the respect of Latino citizens, and form a reasonable response to the president’s recent executive action.
Not Just a Rape Culture: The University’s Rape System
Only political reform can fight the system that protects rapists on college campuses.
Good News About Relationships in America: Findings from a New, Large, Nationwide Survey
A new study gives in-depth information about Americans’ view about sex, religion, marriage, and family. Though there’s lots of bad news, there are also some encouraging results.
Updike’s Wager: Brilliance, Doubt, and the Miracle of Existence
Novelist John Updike excelled at his craft, seemingly without effort. But it is his extreme existential doubt and ultimate decision to believe in transcendence that makes Updike’s life and literature approachable.
What It Means to Listen: Free Speech from the Perspective of the Abrahamic Religions
The Abrahamic religions provide a radical interpretation of the importance of speech: it is the primary way in which God reveals himself. Because persons of faith believe that God has spoken, they are called to develop and deepen their capacities for listening. This aspect of free speech is often overlooked when concentrating on laws about what can or cannot be said.
The 1950s, Principled Pluralism, and the Future of America
A new book by George Marsden offers a fresh analysis of American culture and religion in the 1950s. It also presents a way forward, based on the concept of “principled pluralism.”
Poverty, the Rule of Law, and Human Flourishing
If we want to be coherent when addressing poverty, our concerns can’t be rooted in emotivist or relativistic accounts of who human beings are. They must be founded on recognition of each person’s freedom, rationality, and dignity.
