Religion & Liberty Online Archives

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September 10, 2012

Fr. Sirico on 9/11 and the End of Freedom

In his latest column at Forbes, Fr. Robert Sirico discusses his memories of 9/11 and the end of freedom: One might also be tempted to imagine that the answer to bin Laden’s religious mania is a morally neutral public square. Continue Reading...
September 10, 2012

How Ayn Rand’s Philosophy Supports the Welfare State

The paradox of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, James Joseph explains, is that her defense of individual freedom provides a “self-defeating apologia for the American welfare state.” Here we have Ms Rand’s answer to the murder-fueled regimes of mid-century communism: The Individual is the sole scale of value, individual freedom is necessary to the individual survival, she says, and my survival is the sole end of my existence. Continue Reading...
September 06, 2012

Recessions and Recoveries

Stanford economists Russ Roberts and John Taylor offer a helpful discussion potential GDP, recessions, and recoveries. Their comparison of previous recession/recovery cycles to the most recent one helps to illuminate just how unusual (read: terrible) our current recovery has been. Continue Reading...
September 04, 2012

The Problem of Political Messianism

Messianic claims and expectations about politicians are problematic whether they come from the left or from the right, says Ray Nothstine. In his speech at the John Locke Foundation, Nothstine discusses the problems associated with political messianism in American politics. Continue Reading...
August 29, 2012

Is Work the Meaning of Your Life?

The subtitle of Lester DeKoster’s little classic, Work: The Meaning of Your Life–A Christian Perspective, can be a bit off-putting. Is work really the meaning of your life? On the one hand, when we understand DeKoster’s definition of work, we might be a bit more amenable to the suggestion. Continue Reading...
August 29, 2012

The False Hope of the Welfare State

In his debut column at Forbes, Fr. Robert Sirico discusses how the collapse of European economies has exposed the false hope of the welfare state: [T]he great lie at the heart of the all-encompassing welfare state, with its empty promises of eternal security and freedom from want. Continue Reading...
August 27, 2012

Who Counts as Middle Class?

As the Presidential debates draw near, there is one question that tops my wish list of questions that should (but won’t be) asked of the candidates: What income range constitutes “middle class”? Continue Reading...
August 21, 2012

Did Jesus Support a 100% Tax Rate?

“She must not have any friends,” my wife says all too frequently. “Because if she did they wouldn’t let her go out dressed like that.” Although the cattiness of her comment always makes me cringe, my wife does have a point. Continue Reading...
August 20, 2012

Catholics and Orthodox Seek Reconciliation in Poland

On Friday, representatives from the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, including His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and Metropolitan Josef Michalik, President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, signed a joint message committing to further work toward reconciliation between the Russian and Polish peoples and between the two churches. Continue Reading...
August 20, 2012

Samuel Gregg: Why Religious Liberty (and Thomas Becket) Really Matters

Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, has authored a review of the book, “Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel” by John Guy. In it, Gregg notes the continuing need for vigilance regarding religious liberty: And yet as Islam’s present traumas should remind us, a religion’s capacity to make distinctions between the spiritual and temporal realms makes a difference to the more general growth of freedom. Continue Reading...