Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Book Reviews

June 20, 2023

There Are No Alternatives to Free Market Capitalism

Alexander William Salter’s new book, The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good, is an odd fish. It begs questions, contains numerous chapters that consist mostly of lengthy quotations, and at times seems to contradict itself, yet in the end it affirms an essential truth that we may forget from time to time, that private property is essential for political freedom. Continue Reading...
June 13, 2023

Can Fraternities Save America?

Dr. Anthony Bradley is on a quest to make fraternities virtuous again. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” he tells me. “I’m essentially bailing out water on the sinking Titanic.” Continue Reading...
June 08, 2023

A Culinary Introduction to the Devout Life

There comes a time when you yearn to live out your faith more deeply. This can mean different things for different believers, but it usually entails taking up a variety of personal disciplines, returning to tradition, and committing oneself to prayer and introspection. Continue Reading...
June 07, 2023

Is Christianity Special?

Mark David Hall’s Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans defends the role of Christianity in American history against critics who either deny its influence or assert that its influence was pernicious (e.g., Continue Reading...
May 31, 2023

A Campus Satire for Our Time

As far back as the 1960s, novelist Philip Roth declared that reality in the United States was outpacing the creative capacities of the writer of fiction. “The actuality is continually outdoing our talents,” he wrote back then, “and the culture tosses up figures daily that are the envy of any novelist.” Continue Reading...
May 10, 2023

Reading Well for Your Spiritual Life

Widespread literacy is taken for granted in America today. Our global economy, societal structures, professional success, and everyday activities depend upon our ability to read, even as our interest in reading books appears to be declining. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2023

Engaging the Culture for Christ

Billy Graham was often called “America’s Pastor.” Throughout the 20th century, few rivaled his spiritual influence over the nation. But as we slink into the 21st century, its seems that the pastor for our day is Timothy Keller. Continue Reading...
May 03, 2023

Hollywood’s Lost Paradise

Dreams can often turn into nightmares. And dreams in Hollywood are a special kind, as are the nightmares that can follow. One day you’re getting ready to audition for a role in a movie. Continue Reading...
April 25, 2023

When Human Flourishing Becomes Human Suffering

When the Berlin Wall fell, it was a commonplace observation that there were more Marxists in New York City than in the USSR. If the new Oxford University Press book Theater & Human Flourishing is any indication, they have since relocated to various university drama departments. Continue Reading...