Rev. Ben Johnson

Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.

Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson

January 10, 2019

In Spain, collectivism is rising on the Right

Spain closed out 2018 by witnessing the rise of a new and growing populist party named Vox, writes Ángel Manuel García Carmona in a new essay for Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website: Since 2016, right-wing populist parties have been on the rise in Europe: National Rally (formerly the National Front) in France, the League in Italy, the Party for Freedom in Netherlands, Vlaams Belang in Flanders, and the Alternative for Germany are but a few examples. Continue Reading...
January 08, 2019

What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets wrong about Europe

During her interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, newly sworn in Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez justified her vision of democratic socialism by invoking a caricature of Europe. When asked if she wanted to turn the United States into a version of Venezuela or the Soviet Union, Ocasio-Cortez demurred with an incredulous smile. Continue Reading...
January 04, 2019

Is capitalism making us fat?

As workers emerge from the holidays an average of one pound heavier, weight loss tops every list of New Year’s resolutions. Yet in 2019, physicians are asking politicians to classify obesity as a disease to be treated by taxing sugary foods – and some commentators are blaming our penchant for overindulgence on the capitalist system.    Continue Reading...
December 27, 2018

UK govt to investigate global Christian persecution

As the West continues to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas which extend into the New Year, some 215 million Christians worldwide face violence or repression. On the day after Christmas, the British government launched a review of Christian persecution in “key countries” – especially in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa – and to seek ways the UK can help those who are suffering. Continue Reading...
December 21, 2018

Gilet jaunes and the issue of intergenerational justice

France’s “yellow vest” protesters oppose the nation’s crushing carbon taxes on fossil fuels, but a deeper issue stoking discontent remains unexplored. Without addressing that issue, President Emmanuel Macron’s concessions to the gilet jaunes protesters “will certainly not resolve France’s underlying economic problems,” writes Professor Philip Booth in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic titled, “Gilet jaune: the uprising of a generation.” Continue Reading...
December 20, 2018

Is the UK facing massive child poverty?

Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist that “very sage, very deep” British leaders “established the rule that all poor people should have the alternative … of being starved by a gradual process in the [poor]house, or by a quick one out of it.” Continue Reading...