Rev. Ben Johnson is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as executive editor of the Acton Institute from 2016 to 2021. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including National Review, the American Spectator, The Guardian, National Catholic Register, Providence, Jewish World Review, Human Events, and the American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. You can find him on X: @therightswriter.
Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
July 05, 2020
Among the most influential critics of the free market on the Right is Patrick Deneen, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame. Acton Institute Senior Research Fellow Michael Matheson Miller has published a response in
Law & Liberty to Deneen’s recent plea for a national policy to favor small communities (“Thinking Big to Act Small” in the
American Compass).
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July 01, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue admirably defended religious liberty, school choice, and parental rights. However, the court may have also paved the way for teachers unions and hostile politicians to undermine that victory.
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June 30, 2020
The French writer, philosopher, and exponent of liberty Frédéric Bastiat would turn 219 years old this week. For more than a century Bastiat’s concise, wisdom-infused words have led people on both sides of the Atlantic to embrace the timeless principles of limited government, freedom of commerce, and unalienable rights.
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June 29, 2020
The political response to COVID-19 has created an economic downturn unprecedented since the Great Depression. However, the Church’s “anemic response” has deprived the poor of spiritual solace and the Church of its vocation and vitality, said Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
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June 26, 2020
Our open national strife entered a new phase when a leader of Black Lives Matter suggested his members move from cultural iconoclasm to religious iconoclasm. Shaun King’s call to smash all European-looking images of Jesus – echoing an ancient heresy – perfectly illustrates the underlying beliefs and ideologies motivating present-day anarchists.
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June 26, 2020
The Acton Institute continues to lead the global poverty discussion, as the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business hosted a screening of its award-winning documentary
Poverty Inc. Afterwards the chamber held a virtual panel of speakers from around the world, including the film’s producer, Acton Institute Research Fellow Michael Matheson Miller, about how the movie’s insights apply to poverty eradication programs.
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June 25, 2020
America’s current racial strife has roots deeper than recent controversies involving the police. One factor greatly exacerbating these tensions is the contrast in worldviews over the relative importance of “race” in one’s life and how those in dialogue view the American founding, according to Ismael Hernandez, executive director of the Freedom and Virtue Institute and a longtime lecturer at Acton University.
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June 19, 2020
The mayor and civil authorities took no action as protesters claimed a six-block section of downtown Seattle as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. By their indifference and complicity, political leaders have failed into carry out the most primary functions and duties for which government is established.
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June 19, 2020
Thanks almost entirely to the killing of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter’s approval rating has more than doubled from where it stood four years ago, surging from 27% in 2016 to 57% today.
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June 12, 2020
Orthodox Christians cannot participate in riots, revolutionary movements, or violent protests in the name of “justice,” according to a statement from an archbishop. Instead, they should promote “civil evolution” through a commitment to personal virtue—financed by private philanthropy and church charity for the poor.
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