Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Acton Commentary

April 18, 2012

Acton Commentary: Bread First, Then Ethics

My ongoing reflection on the Hunger Games trilogy from Suzanne Collins continues with today’s Acton Commentary, “Bread First, Then Ethics.” This piece serves as a sort of follow-up to an earlier commentary, “Secular Scapegoats and ‘The Hunger Games,'” as well as an essay over at First Things I wrote with Todd Steen, “Hope in the Hunger Games.” Continue Reading...
April 13, 2012

More on Cardinal Turkson: ‘A Vatican document to make Socrates proud’

John L. Allen, Jr., at the National Catholic Reporter, took note of the address recently given by Cardinal Peter Turkson, just as Acton did.  Allen’s blog post, which referenced Acton’s Samuel Gregg and his National Review Online piece,  noted that the Cardinal posed some very specific and probing questions for business people who wish to integrate their spiritual life and work life: Am I creating wealth, or am I engaging in rent-seeking behavior? Continue Reading...
April 11, 2012

Commentary: The Left Resumes Its War on History

Did you know Che Guevara was at heart an Irish freedom fighter? In this week’s Acton Commentary (published April 11), Samuel Gregg looks at how the left “has been remarkably successful in distorting people’s knowledge of Communism’s track-record.” Continue Reading...
April 10, 2012

‘A Budget is Not Just About Numbers’

Back in 2011, then-Bishop Timothy Dolan pointed out that our nation’s budget is not simply a matter of numbers and balanced books.  “It reflects the very values of our nation. As many religious leaders have commented, budgets are moral statements.” Continue Reading...
April 10, 2012

‘The Transformative Power of Work’

Cardinal Peter K. Turkson, in a recent address to French businesspeople, spoke about integrating faith and work. In its exercise of business, therefore, humanity would become a ‘rock’ that sustains creation through the practice of love and justice. Continue Reading...
April 04, 2012

Consumers Acting Badly

I found this video on NPR’s ‘Planet Money’  intriguing.  A young woman reflects on the cost of her wedding dress, which she’s obviously worn once.  She recognizes that there is enormous emotional attachment to this garment, but there is something going on in terms of how much she spent; she just can’t quite put her finger on it.  Continue Reading...
March 28, 2012

Faith, Freedom, and ‘The Hunger Games’

In today’s Acton Commentary, “Secular Scapegoats and ‘The Hunger Games,'” I examine the themes of faith and freedom expressed in Suzanne Collins’ enormously popular trilogy. The film version of the first book hit the theaters this past weekend, and along with the release has come a spate of commentary critical of various aspects of Collins’ work. Continue Reading...
March 21, 2012

Commentary: Human Nature: The Question behind the Culture Wars

Why do people so readily assume the worst about the religious motives of their fellow citizens? Why do we let partisanship take precedence over implementing policy solutions? In his new book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and attempts to show the way forward to mutual understanding. Continue Reading...