Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Religion/Belief'

June 11, 2012

Samuel Gregg: A Necessary Symbiosis

Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg reviews America’s Spiritual Capital by Nicholas Capaldi and T. R. Malloch (St Augustine’s Press, 2012) for The University Bookman. … Capaldi and Malloch are—refreshingly—unabashed American exceptionalists. Continue Reading...
June 08, 2012

DCI John Luther: Secular Authority

An essay of mine on the wonderful and difficult BBC series “Luther” is up over at the Comment magazine website, “Get Your Hands Dirty: The Vocational Theology of Luther.” In this piece I reflect on DCI John Luther’s “overriding need to protect other people from injustice and harm, and even sometimes the consequences of their own sin and guilt,” and how that fits in with the Christian (and particularly Lutheran) doctrine of vocation. Continue Reading...
June 07, 2012

Only a Sunday Believer?

“I do my religion on Sundays.” That was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s answer to a press conference question on the Catholic Church’s stance on contraception, according to The Washington Examiner. Continue Reading...
June 07, 2012

Politics and Pulpits Don’t Mix

Over at Commentary Magazine, Jonathan S. Tobin remarks on the double standards liberals have about allowing politicians to promote political positions from the pulpits of churches and synagogues: [A]llowing a religious event to become the venue for partisan politics is always asking for trouble. Continue Reading...
June 05, 2012

Rev. Sirico on Research on Religion podcast

Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico’s Research on Religion podcast went live today. In it, Rev. Sirico sits down with host Tony Gill to discuss his new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for Capitalism, and a range of other topics, including the morality of capitalism, faith-based initiatives, and Austrian economics. Continue Reading...
May 23, 2012

Acton Commentary: Contagious Community

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Contagious Community,” I look at the positive as well as the negative aspects of coordination and cooperation between human beings on a global scale. The film Contagion provided the occasion for these reflections, and I argue that while the film is clear about the dangers of globalized human relationships, it also teaches a more subtle lesson. Continue Reading...
May 22, 2012

What Happens When ‘Free’ is Unaffordable?

As I noted yesterday, I’m in Montreal for the next couple of weeks, and today I had the chance to see some of the student protests firsthand. These protests have been going on now for over three months, and have to do with the raising of tuition for college in Quebec. Continue Reading...
May 22, 2012

The Death of Liberal Catholicism

Is it “game-over” for so-called cafeteria or dissenting Catholics? In a Crisis Magazine article, Acton’s Samuel Gregg, Director of Research, says it is. The demographic evidence for impending extinction is striking. Continue Reading...
May 21, 2012

Defending the Free Market review: More than Mere Economics

On his Koinonia blog, Rev. Gregory Jensen reviews Rev. Robert Sirico’s new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy. Jensen: “Daring though the argument is, especially for a Catholic priest, it is also essential that it be made since for too many people (including business people), free market economic theory and policies are little more than a justification for greed. Continue Reading...