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Religious freedom and economic liberty: Truly indivisible
We are belatedly realizing that different forms of freedom are more dependent on each other than many have hitherto supposed. Who would have thought that the welfare state’s expansion in the guise of Obamacare — which, by definition, significantly reduces economic freedom — would directly impact the ability of individuals and groups to conduct their affairs in accordance with their deeply held religious beliefs?Mass incarceration: The new eugenics?
The United States currently has over 2.3 million prisoners incarcerated in federal, state, and local jails around the country. According to an April report by the Sentencing Project, that number presents a 500 percent increase in incarcerations over the past 40 years. How did this happen? The culprit is usually identified as the failed policies associated with the War on Drugs. Because blacks are disproportionately swept up in the campaign against drugs, some scholars refer to the results of mass incarceration as the new “The New Jim Crow.” While the original intentions may have been well-meaning, the long-term consequences may be worse: The War on Drugs may actually be class-based eugenics by another name. In her groundbreaking book The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander hypothesized that given the similarity between the “law and order” appeals between the creation of Jim Crow laws and similar appeals in the War on Drugs, and the resultant economic marginalization of felons after release from prison, today’s mass incarceration is “The New Jim Crow.”Poverty, justice, and Christian love
Humanitarianism is a hollowed-out secular and materialist vision of Christian love. It is a bad copy. Yet even Christian organizations often operate under a humanitarian model.Panem and the polis
It is when inequality is unjust that it becomes a pestilence to social life. Likewise, there is such a thing as social unrest that arises because of unjust equality.Christian environmentalism and the temptation of faux asceticism
It is important to clarify the Church’s teaching on asceticism, because many voices in the environmental movement encourage a kind of ascetical lifestyle in the name of “ethical consumption.” Orthodox writers on the environment are not immune to the temptation of putting the ascetical tradition of the Church in the service of another agenda.War on women: Hypocrisy and paternalism under the guise of equality
There are nuances to the equal pay illusion that escape both the White House and the press.Just money
Money: it’s on everyone’s mind sometimes. In recent years, however, many have suggested there are some fundamental problems with the way money presently functions in our economies.In defense of Paul Ryan
The argument of most conservatives with most liberals is not about whether Americans should help those in need. That is a given. The issue concerns the how.Crony capitalism’s favorite trick: more regulation
The regulation game is a clever trick for walling out smaller competitors, but it’s also immoral and culturally degrading.What would God’s March Madness look like?
Could competition focus churches and church members the same way March Madness focuses people on basketball? Could we get people to put in extra effort? Could we get them to think outside the box and do more?Everything really is awesome
A key step in coming to understand our calling to creative service is to realize that everything really is awesome, not in the trite sense that it is simply cool or nice, but rather that the entire created order is awe-inspiring in its scale and scope. It is awesome in its complexity. It is awesome in its diversity. It is awesome in its expression of God’s grace.Pope Francis’ money man
Cardinal George Pell's appointment indicates that Pope Francis wants someone to take full-time responsibility for exorcising these problems. Fortunately, Cardinal Pell is rather well-equipped for the job.