January 2017 Archives

January 18, 2017

What you should know about the President’s Cabinet

Note: This is the first in a weekly series of explanatory posts on the officials and agencies included in the President’s Cabinet. When Obamacare was signed into law in 2010, the Catholic nuns didn’t expect it would affect their religious liberty. Continue Reading...

January 17, 2017

6 Quotes: Ben Franklin on money and virtue

Today is the 311th birthday of the Founding Father and polymath, Ben Franklin. As a leading statesman and scientist of his day, Franklin made innumerable contributions—many of which made him a wealthy man. Continue Reading...

January 17, 2017

Video: Ilya Shapiro on judicial abdication and the growth of government

On December 1st, Acton welcomed Cato Institute Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies Ilya Shapiro to the Mark Murray Auditorium to speak on the role of the federal judiciary in the growth of government. Continue Reading...

January 17, 2017

Trump should abolish the White House faith office

“Why can’t sane energy policies be developed and effectively implemented without a $30 billion bureaucracy to oversee it?” asks Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico in a recent article for The Hill. Continue Reading...

January 17, 2017

The great economic problem

Note: This is post #17 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. How does the price of oil affect the price of candy bars? When the price of oil increases, it is of course more expensive to transport goods, like candy bars. Continue Reading...

January 16, 2017

10 Quotes for Religious Freedom Day

Thomas Jefferson wanted what he considered to be his three greatest achievements to be listed on his tombstone. The inscription, as he stipulated, reads “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.” Continue Reading...

January 16, 2017

5 facts about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today Americans observe a U.S. federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King’s birthday, January 15. Continue Reading...

January 13, 2017

The 5 most dangerous countries to be a Christian

For the sixteenth consecutive year, North Korea is ranked as the most oppressive place in the world for Christians, according to the international non-profit ministry Open Doors. Every year Open Doors publishes the World Watch List to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. Continue Reading...

January 13, 2017

Leo XIII, Kuyper, and the foundations of modern Christian social thought

“For Christians who wish to restore our society,” says Acton senior research fellow Jordan Ballor, “the writings of Leo XIII and Abraham Kuyper can provide a set of guiding principles.” “When a society is perishing,” wrote Pope Leo XIII in 1891, “those who would restore it . Continue Reading...

January 12, 2017

Pope Francis, Manzoni’s The Betrothed, and sound economics

Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist, is best known for his book The Betrothed. Rev. Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, recently wrote an article for Crisis Magazine praising Manzoni and discussing some of the economic themes found in The Betrothed. Continue Reading...