Religion & Liberty Online Archives

News and Events

August 05, 2015

General Mills ‘Stung’ by Activist Shareholders

The religious shareholder activists over at As You Sow, Clean Yield Asset Management, and Trillium Asset Management are all abuzz over a commitment made by General Mills to adhere to the White House Pollinator Health Task Force strategy on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (hereafter referred to as neonics). Continue Reading...
August 03, 2015

As You Sow Chases ‘Dark Money’

Your writer has been telling readers for some time now that so-called “religious” shareholder activism is more political than spiritual. I’ve also pointed out time and again that the priests, nuns, clergy, and religious affiliated with such shareholder groups as As You Sow are opposed to corporate donations to political activities only when it suits them. Continue Reading...
July 31, 2015

McKibben: ‘Thatcher and Reagan Summon the Worst in Us’

Bill McKibben’s New York Review of Books essay on Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, has prompted two previous posts by your author (here and here). Working through the review has helped identify McKibben’s affinity for liberation theology and his outlandish claim that Pope Francis shares this affinity. Continue Reading...
July 30, 2015

Bill McKibben, Pope Francis, and Liberation Theology

On Tuesday, I dealt with approximately the first third of Bill McKibben’s New York Review of Books’ essay on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si encyclical. Today, I review the middle third, which includes McKibben’s alarming defense of liberation theology and his claim that this discredited ideology is embraced by Pope Francis. Continue Reading...
July 30, 2015

USCCB’s Misunderstanding of Economics

Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for supporting just wage public policies. While the religious leaders genuinely concern for the poor, they display a deep lack of understanding of basic economic principles, namely the law of supply and demand. Continue Reading...
July 30, 2015

Owen Chadwick, 1916-2015

Earlier this month, the eminent historian Owen Chadwick passed away. Chadwick’s immense scholarly accomplishments included Acton and History, his study of our namesake here at the Acton Institute. John Morrill wrote a wonderful reflection for The Guardian on Chadwick’s life, character, and accomplishments at the time. Continue Reading...
July 24, 2015

Income Inequality and Legal Plunder

Fueled, in part, by the Pope’s passionate appeals, the campaign to reduce income inequality is growing rapidly around the globe. The income equality movement argues that there is a growing gap between the incomes of top earners and everyone else. Continue Reading...
July 24, 2015

House Rejects Mandatory GMO Labeling

Yesterday the the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, known as the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.” The bill prevents states from requiring mandatory labeling for any products containing genetically modified food. Continue Reading...