Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Public Policy

January 23, 2018

Ending America’s bigoted education laws

When James Blaine introduced his ill-fated constitutional amendment in 1875, he probably never would have imagined the unintended consequences it would have over a hundred years later. Blaine wanted to prohibit the use of state funds at “sectarian” schools (a code word for Catholic parochial schools) in order to inhibit immigration. Continue Reading...
October 16, 2017

Christian education is not safe

“Each generation needs to re-own the rationale for Christian education,” says philosopher James K.A. Smith, “to ask ourselves ‘Why did we do this?’ and ‘Should we keep doing this?’” In answering such questions, Smith notes, “it might be helpful to point out what Christian education is not”: First, Christian education is not meant to be merely “safe” education. Continue Reading...
October 03, 2017

Sec. DeVos defends school choice in speech at Harvard

In a speech last Thursday at the Harvard Kennedy School, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made a powerful defense of school choice: One of the many pernicious effects of the growth of government is that its people worry less and less about each other, thinking their worries are now in the hands of so-called “experts” in Washington. Continue Reading...
September 27, 2017

Pope, Patriarch need theology of civilization

Today at Public Orthodoxy, I examine the recent claim of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that The human environment and the natural environment are deteriorating together, and this deterioration of the planet weighs upon the most vulnerable of its people. Continue Reading...
July 25, 2017

Evaluating Trump’s tax reforms

In April, the Trump administration provided a broad outline of proposed reforms, including simplifying tax brackets, eliminating the marriage penalty, and creating child care deductions. The National Catholic Register recently published an article on the reforms, focusing on its effect on the family. Continue Reading...
June 30, 2017

Reining in the EPA’s regulatory overreach

President Donald Trump turned heads and drew criticisms for his efforts to curb the regulatory reach of the Environmental Protection Agency. With the appointment of Scott Pruitt to lead the agency, Trump has vowed to create a leaner bureaucracy by requiring agencies to repeal two regulations for each new regulation enacted. Continue Reading...