Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Christian Social Thought

April 18, 2016

Samuel Gregg: How Bernie Sanders spins a papal encyclical

At The Stream, Acton Institute Research Director Samuel Gregg does a crime scene investigation of Bernie Sanders’ take on Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus encyclical. You might never guess, by listening to the Democrat presidential candidate, that John Paul actually had some positive things to say about the market economy. Continue Reading...
April 13, 2016

Roundup: Samuel Gregg on Pope Francis and Overpopulation, Pope Leo XIII and Modernity, and Constitutional Conservatism

New articles from the indefatigable Samuel Gregg, research director of the Acton Insitute: Amoris Laetitia: Another Nail in the “Overpopulation” Coffin, The Catholic World Report Here the pope signals his awareness of the efforts of various organizations—the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the EU, particular US administrations—to push anti-natalist policies upon developing nations. Continue Reading...
April 04, 2016

Samuel Gregg: Catholicism and the Enlightenment

Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg reviews a new book at the Library of Law and Liberty that demolishes the canard that religious figure were “somehow opposed holus bolus to Enlightenment ideas is one that has been steadily discredited over the last 50 years.” Continue Reading...
March 28, 2016

Could Jesus Be a Chinese Communist?

“If Jesus were alive today, do you think he would be comfortable with the Communist Party government in China?” That’s a question BBC reporter John Sudworth asked Pastor Wu Weiqing, a Beijing based priest, who serves in an official, state-sanctioned church. Continue Reading...
March 11, 2016

Is America Too Religious to Be Socialist?

Since its development as a political movement in the 1700s, socialism has spread to numerous nations, especially in Asia and Africa. Yet even when the U.S. government began adopting socialist policies (see: the New Deal), Americans tended to reject any direct connections to socialism. Continue Reading...
March 08, 2016

Alabama Church Pays Off Payday Loans

About twenty years ago I made some terrible choices and found myself in a serious financial bind. The amount I needed wasn’t much — about $200 — but without it I wouldn’t have been able to pay my rent. Continue Reading...
March 02, 2016

Should Christians Help Kill the $100 Bill?

What if there was an easy-to-implement government policy that would hardly affect ordinary people but would make it substantially more difficult for criminals — from drug dealers to terrorists to human traffickers — to carry out their illicit trade? Continue Reading...