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Public Discourse

The Practical Wisdom of Chief Justice Ellsworth: Reconsidering the Separation of Church and State

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If good morals are essential for a free republic to endure, and if a certain group of institutions successfully promote those morals, then it follows that a well-governed state may be friendly to those institutions—even if they are churches.
Public Discourse

Public Debt, Political Paralysis, and the West

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The West’s struggle with high public debt highlights the inertia and indecision of both governments and citizens in the face of difficult economic choices.
Public Discourse

Professor Paulsen and Justice Scalia: A Qualified Defense of the Smith Decision

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There are some problems in the reasoning of Justice Scalia’s opinion in the 1990 religious freedom case. But in its holding, and in its rejection of a quarter century of jurisprudence that could not be squared with the First Amendment, the judgment was correct.
Public Discourse

There Is No Fundamental Right to Marry

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It’s easy to confuse fundamental rights with intensely-desired goods—and thus to wrongly invest the latter with the moral urgency and primacy of the former.
Public Discourse

Catholicism, Capitalism, and Caritas: The Continuing Legacy of Michael Novak

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In a time of intense debate about global capitalism and the power of economic elites, Michael Novak’s work is essential reading for those who seek to work for free and virtuous societies. Novak’s life is also a lesson in charity.
Public Discourse

“Sex Change” Surgery: What Bruce Jenner, Diane Sawyer, and You Should Know

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The dark and troubling history of the contemporary transgender movement, with its enthusiastic approval of gender-reassignment surgery, has left a trail of misery in its wake.
Public Discourse

The Perils of Political Propaganda: Mass Hysteria over Indiana

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It’s fine for people to express disagreement with the Indiana RFRA—if they know what’s in it. We must not allow ourselves to be manipulated by political propagandists into mob hysteria.
Public Discourse

Truth-Telling and the Right of Self-Government: Why Obama’s Marriage Lie Matters

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The right of self-government depends upon the ability of voters to give their informed consent in choosing elected officials. If candidates lie, self-government becomes impossible.
Public Discourse

Abraham Lincoln as Plutarch Might Have Seen Him

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Thanks to its sympathy and its moral seriousness, Richard Brookhiser’s new biography of Abraham Lincoln is a fine study of statesmanship.
Public Discourse

Constitutional Conservatism Rejects Judicial Supremacy

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Conservatives should defend the Constitution and the rule of law, but they should not defend judicial supremacy. The Constitution—not the Supreme Court—is our country’s highest authority.
Public Discourse

Protecting the Vulnerable: Why We Must Fight for the Inviolability of Life

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A new book clearly examines and answers the most important questions surrounding medical law and ethics, especially in the realm of end-of-life issues.
Public Discourse

Christianity and American Political Thought

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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.
Public Discourse

Conservatives, America, and Natural Law

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For conservatives, a retreat into self-imposed isolation isn’t a responsible option. We need more conservatives publicly witnessing that humans are wired to know and freely choose truth, and that this has implications for the political order.
Public Discourse

Fusionism, Hobby Lobby, and the Constitution

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Responses to the Hobby Lobby case demonstrate the importance of conservatives and libertarians working toward common goals.
Public Discourse

The Illusion of Neutrality

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The secular state cannot be neutral in matters of religion.
Public Discourse

What Reason Can Know and What Government Should Legislate: A Rejoinder to Arkes

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The existence of objective moral truth that is knowable by reason does not imply that people generally, much less particular public officials, will in fact know and embrace that truth. Very often, they won’t, and that is why systematic limits on government power, such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, are good laws.
Public Discourse

Judging Beliefs and Shaping Laws: A Reply to Robert Miller

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Legislators and judges not only can but must gauge the moral justification of every law.
Public Discourse

Professor Arkes and the Law

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When the law limits the courts’ power to inquire into the truth or reasonableness of religious views, this is not because the law is assuming that religious beliefs lack rational foundation. Rather, it’s because allowing courts to exercise this power on a large scale would be too dangerous.
Public Discourse

Obamacare: Text and Intention

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Confronted with its legislative weaknesses, defenders of Obamacare are appealing to the law’s intent instead of its text. This is a dangerous approach that the founders clearly rejected.
Public Discourse

The Blessings of Liberty and the Index of Culture and Opportunity

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Opportunity is not merely the absence of artificially imposed impediments. It is also the capacity to pursue happiness, individually and in community. Adapted from the 2014 Index of Culture and Opportunity.
Public Discourse

The Right to Be Wrong

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The right to religious freedom is for everyone, not just those with the “right” beliefs.
Public Discourse

A Perpetual Haven: Why the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Matters

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Respect for religious conscience is not an afterthought or luxury, but the very essence of the American political and social compact. Adapted from testimony presented before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Public Discourse

How the United States Government Lost Its Liberalism

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Through executive orders and judicial overreach, American government has eroded the separation of powers and lost its commitment to liberal ideals. The second in a two-part series.
Public Discourse

What Can a Modern Philosopher Teach Us About Natural Law?

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As a philosopher, Locke was both historically great and uniquely ambivalent. This combination provides extraordinarily fertile ground for uniting modern and pre-modern insights that seem opposed.