The latest issue of Religion & Liberty is, among other things, a reflection on the 100-year anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution and the horrors committed by Communist regimes.
For the cover story, Religion & Liberty executive editor, John Couretas, interviews Mihail Neamţu, a leading conservative in Romania. They discuss the Russian Revolution and current protests against corruption going on in Romania. A similar topic appears in Rev. Anthony Perkins’ review of the 2017 film Bitter Harvest. This love story is set in Ukraine during the Holodomor, a deadly famine imposed on Ukraine by Joseph Stalin’s Soviet regime in the 1930s. Perkins addresses the significance of the Holodomor in his critique of the new movie. Romanian Orthodox hermit Nicolae Steinhardt was another victim of a Communist regime. During imprisonment in a Romanian gulag, he found faith and even happiness. A rare excerpt in English from his “Diary of Happiness” appears in this issue. In his column, Rev. Robert Sirico reflects on Robert Burns’ “Man Was Made to Mourn: A Dirge” as well as the horrors of the 20th century. Rev. Ben Johnson argues that, for the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin should be buried for good.
You’ve probably noticed this issue of Religion & Liberty looks very different from previous ones. As part of a wider look at international issues, this magazine has been updated and expanded to include new sections focusing on the unique challenges facing Canada, Europe and the United States. A senior editor at Acton, Rev. Ben Johnson, explains this new project in “What are transatlantic values?”
Another feature discusses the surge of populism and why global elites are getting the boot. Robert F. Gorman, author of Acton’s latest monograph What’s Wrong with Global Governance?, sits down with John Couretas to expand on the themes of his latest work.
For the first “In the Liberal Tradition” of this newly redesigned publication, we learn about the life and work of Lucretia Mott. This fearless Quaker fought for the most vulnerable of her time and was a champion for both women’s suffrage and the rights of America’s newly freed slaves.
One of Acton’s latest books, Lord Acton: Historian and Moralist is a collection of essays about the institute’s namesake, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton. Religion & Liberty features an excerpt from this book: Stephen J. Tonsor on Acton’s observations of the American Experiment.
Adapted from a speech given late last year, Roger Scruton reflects on “Freedom and the nation state.”
Plenty of other important topics are also scattered throughout the issue: the danger of success, income inequality and the middle class, how poverty follows children well into adulthood, a brief on the accomplishments of Elinor Ostrom and much, much more. Something new in the expanded magazine are “briefs,” these short essays address big topics.
Enjoy the new Religion & Liberty!
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Featured Image: “Da zdravstvuet mirovoi Oktiabr’!” General Research Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
