James Madison called religious liberty the “lustre of our country” and a guaranteed right that is free from political authority. But some politicians are trying to redefine religious freedom in America, preferring instead to call it “freedom of worship.” The implication is that you are free to say and believe what you want as long as it is confined inside the walls of the houses of worship. But how faithful is this to the First Amendment? Only a decade ago...

Dennis Prager at Prager University reminds us that big government makes everything else (goodness, charity, self-reliance) smaller. Big government also creates a sense of entitlement amongst citizens, creating ingratitude and resentment – hardly what one wants in society. ...

The story of Myles Eckert giving a $20 bill to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey is deserving of the massive amount of attention it has received across the nation. Eckert’s powerful deed has been highlighted and shared frequently all over social media. One of the great qualities I love about many of the old Frank Capra films is how he appealed to the moral conscience of his audience with authenticity and the power of giving. The hero character in Capra films...

Pope Francis recently installed 19 new cardinals in a ceremony at the Vatican, the first that he has chosen in his pontificate. Most of the new Cardinals hail from outside Europe and North America, and the group includes the first Cardinal from the long-impoverished nation of Haiti. Kishore Jayabalan, Director of Istituto Acton in Rome, spoke with the BBC about what this new group of Cardinals means for the Roman Catholic Church, and how they reflect the changing face of...

Offering yetanother contribution to a series of recentdiscussions about the religious liberties of bakers, florists, and photographers, Jonathan Merritt has a piece atThe Atlantic warning that the type of protections Christians were fighting for in Arizona e back to hurt the faithful.” “These prophets of doom only acknowledge one side of the slope,” Merritt writes. “They fail to consider how these laws could be used against members of their munities. If you are able to discriminate against others on the...

When looking for solutions to humanity’s problems, conservatives and libertarians tend to prefer turning first to free markets rather than government. The reason for such a preference is often misunderstood, and can be difficult to explain since it appears paradoxical: free markets are often better at serving human needs than governments because free markets make it easier to fail. As Arnold Kling explains, the best way to deal with failure depends on the institution. An individual needs to fail with...

“Most CEOs now spray the word ‘innovation’ as if it were an air freshener,” says Dennis Berman in the Wall Street Journal, “A little spritz can’t hurt.” A prime example, notes Berman, is what Kellogg’s CEO John Bryant described as one of pany’s most important “innovations”: a peanut butter Pop-Tart. Most of us would probably agree that a new flavor of breakfast pastry isn’t as innovative as, say, the iPhone. But how do we know? What exactly is innovation? As...

From The Independent: He leads pany that some would consider the epitome of ruthless global capitalism. But Apple chief executive Tim Cook has shocked some in the US with an impassioned attack on the single-minded pursuit of profit – and a direct appeal to climate-change deniers not to buy shares in his firm. Eyewitnesses said Cook, who succeeded Steve Jobs as boss of the technology giant in 2011, was visibly angry as he took on a group of right-wing investors...

Today the Acton Institute announced the 2014 Novak Award winner. Full release follows: A rigorous researcher and sound contributor to various academic disciplines and initiatives, Finnish native Oskari Juurikkala has been selected as the recipient of the 2014 Novak Award by the Acton Institute in recognition of his early promise as a scholar. Educated in both law (London School of Economics) and economics (Helsinki School of Economics), he earned a joint Ph.D. in law and economics from the University of...

The Supreme Courts is hearing a case that involves a First Amendment challenge to an Ohio law that makes it a crime to “disseminate a false statement concerning a candidate, either knowing the same to be false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false.” During the 2010 elections, the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life advocacy group, published ads in Ohio claiming that then-Rep. Steven Driehaus supported taxpayer-funded abortions (because he had voted for the Affordable Care Act)....