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George Washington: Champion of Religious Liberty

For George Washington’s birthday,Julia Shaw reminds usthat the indispensable man of the American Founding was also an important champion of religious liberty: All Presidents can learn from Washington’s leadership in foreign policy, in upholding the rule of law, and—especially now—in the importance of religion and religious liberty. While the Obama Administration claims to be modating” Americans’ religious freedom concerns regarding the Health and Human Services (HHS) Obamacare mandate, it is actually trampling religious freedom. President Washington set a tremendous example...

5 Things You Should Know About Washington’s Birthday

Today in the United States is the federal holiday known as Washington’s Birthday (not “Presidents Day—see item #1). In honor of George Washington’s birthday, here are 5 things you should know about the day set aside for our America’s founding father. 1. Although some state and local governments and private businesses refer to today as President’s Day, the legal public holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code. The observance of...

Religious Shareholders Want to Shut Down Political Debate

Harvard students a century or so ago joked that Professor Irving Babbitt’s distaste for Jean-Jacques Rousseau was so fervent that he checked under his bed each evening to make sure the 18th century French philosopher wasn’t hiding there. In this humorous vein, one could apply the same fear held by progressive activists for the dreaded brothers Koch – Charles and David. Not only do activists check under their respective beds, but as well their closets, attics, basements, cookie jars and...

The Unbearable Cruelty of Banning Blankets for the Homeless

Does the city of Pensacola, Florida care more about fort of cats than the dignity and safety of human beings? That certainly seems to be the case. Last week, a local news warning suggested that residents bring pets inside to protect them from cold temperatures. But the city prohibited its homeless population from covering themselves to keep out the cold. The Pensacola ordinance said a person may not be “adjacent to or inside a tent or sleeping bag, or atop...

Young Evangelicals: 5 Reasons Libertarianism And Christianity Are Compatible

While acknowledging that the Bible is not a book of political theory, a recent panel hosted by The Institute for Faith, Work and Economics asked whether or not Christianity and libertarianism patible. The panel, moderated by former Acton Institute intern Elise Amyx, was made up of young evangelicals eager to tackle the question. They came up with 5 reasons that Christianity and libertarianism were patible. 1. Christianity Celebrates Voluntary Action, Value Creation Jacqueline Otto Isaacs, a blogger at Values &...

Audio: Rev. Robert A. Sirico on the Problem of and Solutions to Poverty

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, joins Drew Mariani onRelevant Radio’s Drew Mariani Show to discuss the problem of Global Poverty and the seemingly counterintuitive solutions that have been lifting people out of poverty over the last few decades, as well as how more conventional “solutions” like government-to-government aid often have disastrous effects for those who are the intended recipients of the aid. You can listen to the interview via the audio player below. ...

Prophets in the Workplace

In the latest issue of The Living Pulpit, Presbyterian pastor Neal Presa reviews Flourishing Churches and Communities, Charlie Self’s Pentecostal primer on faith, work, and economics. Presa heartily mends the book, emphasizing that Self provides a theological framework that not only challenges the church, but points it directly to the broader global economy: Flourishing Churches and Communities is a e addition to recent books in my own Reformed tradition on an integrated and holistic theology of work, from the likes...

RELIGION & LIBERTY

Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor

An interesting phenomenon of recent years has been the relative ease with which many former Communist parties around the globe have successfully reinvented themselves as “social democrats,” often with strong “environmentalist” stances. What is disturbing about the eback of the cadres is that they are preaching essentially the same illiberal, anti-humanistic, and anti-entrepreneurial message, albeit this time under the banner of “scientific” environmental responsibility rather than Marxist historical imperative. This is disconcerting particularly when one recalls Pope John Paul...

Sep 13, 2026

The Personalism of John Paul II

Samuel Gregg's book, Challenging the Modern World, ventures to identify the fundamental ideas in the social teachings that John Paul II has influenced and to show the extent to which this development is rooted in his writings prior to ing pope. Given John Paul's stated intent to supply a Christian alternative to (purely) humanistic philosophies, the concern of his papacy for ethics, and the fact that this is the longest and most dynamic papacy of this century, Samuel Gregg's...

Sep 13, 2026

Francis Fukuyama's Unhappy Optimism

Although the decade ended thirty years ago, the 1960s are in many ways still with us. Like Jacob Marley’s ghost, they serve as a haunting reminder of who we once were and who we have e. That the 1960s continue to influence our society is acknowledged by partisans on both the Right and the Left. Thus, while conservatives trace many of our problems back to the liberationist ideologies of the 1960s, former radicals, now turned pillars of the establishment,...

Sep 13, 2026

What a Natural Rights Regime Requires

There is a unique satisfaction in seeing a colleague’s work mature into a worthy contribution to the understanding of liberty. Randy Barnett’s articles on contract, the Second Amendment, and the Ninth Amendment have been all important statements. Now, his thinking on liberty flowers into a thoughtful, humble, and frank declaration. Barnett’s professional life would have drawn an approving nod from Aristotle. As he brings into perfection the potentialities of his thinking, as he achieves excellence in his life’s work,...

Sep 13, 2026

Creation of Wealth

The prosperity and way of life in many countries of western civilization (namely Germany, Holland, Switzerland, England, and the United States of America) have existed for a few hundred years now. Much like those who lived in the Roman Empire, the sheer force of this history may persuade contemporary members of secular society to feel invincible against the demise of this prosperity and way of life, demanding it as a birthright rather than accepting it as a delicate heirloom....

Sep 13, 2026

Freedom and Virtue

The English weekly, The Spectator, on July 18, 1998, declared, “the pope has argued that only when individuals give of their own free will are their morals stretched and trained, but most voters adhere to Rousseau and the General Will. They want to give and receive as determined by Parliament.” That the welfare state is the greatest threat to morality and family is mon conclusion of American conservatives. Similarly, they recoil at the social and cultural decay represented by...

Sep 13, 2026

Liberalism Versus Community?

The Essential Communitarian Reader, edited by Amitai Etzioni, is a disappointing book. It is not clearly focused. It reads at times more like the platform of a political party than a set of serious essays designed to challenge the dominant Western political paradigm of the last few centuries. Most of its essays do e close to addressing the fundamental issues that divide classical liberals munitarians. I will ment on some of the more thoughtful essays in this volume, but...

Sep 13, 2026

A Humane Economy

A student of the Austrian School of economics and an architect of West Germany’s economic reconstruction after World War II, Wilhelm Röpke’s intellectual project was marked by sober thinking about the moral implications of the economic order. Perhaps his best-known work, A Humane Economy (originally published in 1960 and released last fall in a new edition), is the fruit of such thinking. Röpke begins A Humane Economy by anticipating three types of critics of his book: the collectivists, those...

Sep 13, 2026

Tempted by Affluence?

“Buying stuff is not just our popular culture, it is how we understand the world.” One wonders, of course, exactly who James Twitchell (author of Lead Us into Temptation) thinks this “we” is. It is true, nonetheless, that of all the issues that provoke the most debate about the free economy, the question of the culture of consumerism invariably ignites heated debate. Do the plethora and variety of material goods that are the fruit of a dynamic entrepreneurial economy...

Sep 13, 2026

Remember the Scriptures

Remember Creation is another in a growing list of books by evangelicals calling for concern about the environment. The fundamental message that Christians have a responsibility to God for wise stewardship of creation is unassailable, and Scott Hoezee’s book artfully makes the case for this. There are, however, serious weaknesses that detract from the book’s usefulness as a source of sound understanding regarding environmental theology, ethics, and science. A Scientifically Flawed Crisis Mentality First, the book displays considerable bias...

Sep 13, 2026