Global poverty and its alleviation are often subjects of heated debate. Join us for an AU Online lecture series that explores the theme of human flourishing as it relates to poverty, globalization, and the Church in the developed world. The Globalization, Poverty, and Development series is scheduled for December 6 through December 13, 2012. Online sessions will be held at 6:30 p.m. EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Visit auonline.acton.org for more information and to register. You should also check out...

The estimable Mollie Hemingway has a post up at Ricochet that examines the curious spillover of Black Friday into Thanksgiving Thursday. She writes, “Do Target executives have the right to make employees leave their families to open stores on days when they’ll be home with their families? Of course they do. Should they? Of course not!” Her concern is “that some people are so addicted to shopping that they can’t even take three days off a year.” I think she’s...

In the latest issue of Christianity Today,Wilfred McClay offers six reasons why religion in America really does—and should—enjoy ‘special privileges’: A third argument for religion’s special place is anthropological:Human beings are naturally inclined toward religion.We are driven to relate our understanding of the highest things to our lives lived munity with others. Whether our “theotropic” impulses derive from in-built endowment, evolutionary adaptation, or some other source, the secular order ought not to inhibit their expression. If believers sense a general...

I just finished re-reading through C.S. Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” and have a Holiday book mendation for you: the third title in this series, That Hideous Strength. Certainly all three are fantastic and important reads that incorporate thematic elements relating to theology, philosophy, history, politics, economics and astronomy. It’s “Science Fiction,” but only in the same way that the Bible is “just a bunch of God’s rules.” These three books are bigger than any one genre and the Sci-fi label should...

Anthony Esolen has written a rollicking piece in Crisis bemoaning the misrepresentation, misuse and mangling of Catholic Social Teaching. In a phrase, he’s sick of it. I’m sick of hearing that Catholic teaching regarding sex and marriage is one thing, in that old-fashioned trinket box over there, while Catholic teaching regarding stewardship and our duties to the poor is another thing, on that marble pedestal over here. I’m sick of hearing that Catholic teaching regarding the Church and her authority...

In the Autumn 2012 issue of Response, Jeff Van Duzer, wrote an article entitled, “Does Business Matter To God,” on the issue of faith and work. He is a well-respected professor of business law and ethics at Seattle Pacific University who gives a unique look into the role faith plays in business. This entire issue of Response is dedicated to the topics of faith and work. I will write about a few other noteworthy articles over ing weeks. Van Duzer...

, a Russian site, has published an English translation of an interview given by Archpriest Nikolai Chernyshev, who is identified as “the spiritual father of the Solzhenitsyn family during the final years of the writer’s life.” The interview touches on Aleksandr Solzenitsyn’s upbringing in a deeply religious Russian Orthodox family, his encounter with militant atheism ( … he joined neither the Young Pioneers nor the Komsomol [All-Union Leninist Young Communist League]. The Pioneers would tear off his baptismal cross, but...

Religious groups and businesses who, by weight of conscience, are choosing not to participate in the HHS mandate requiring them to provide abortifacients, artificial birth control, sterilization procedures and abortions as part of “health” care coverage, are now faced with massive fines from the government. The fines for pliance are $100 per day per employee. For panies, that means millions in fines. Eric Baxter, Senior Counsel for The Becket Fund, says …the mandate places a “significant burden” on religious organizations’...

Making the case for religious liberty for those with ultra-short attention spans. Ed Morrissey also provides a30 second argument: Actually, this argument works beyond the issue of religious-organization exemption as well, as I’ve repeatedly argued. Why should we forceanyemployer to directly subsidize birth control? What role does an employer have in the bedroom, anyway? The intrusion on what should be a free-market choice makes even less sense when prehensive long-term studyby the Center for Disease Control shows access plays no...

Every year Black Friday marks the official beginning of two modern American traditions: Christmas shopping and criticizing Walmart. Critics on both the left and the right have found mon enemy in Walmart. Those on the left hate pany because it isn’t unionized while plain because it undercuts mom-and-pop retailers. Some researchers even claim that people are prone to gain weight after a Walmart Supercenter opens nearby. I suspect if the researchers were to conduct a follow-up study they’d also find...