728 x 90



  • Where the Last Becomes First0

    The complicated legacy of Christianity’s political witness The story of Christianity and politics through the ages is a messy one. In their new book two renowned Anglican theologians, N. T. Wright from Britain and Michael F. Bird from Australia, take another look at this controversial tale, combing Scripture, history, and current events in search of

    READ MORE
  • Unleash the States?0

    For decades state legislatures have been bound by the establishment clause of the First Amendment. So why are some scholars now calling for “disincorporation,” arguing that states should be free to make laws “respecting an establishment of religion”? The establishment clause of the First Amendment declares, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of

    READ MORE
  • The Price of Protection0

    “Together we will make America stronger and prouder, safer, freer, greater, and more faithful to our God than ever before.” —President Donald J. Trump, speaking to faith leaders February 6 at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. What are we to make of the first weeks of the new presidential administration? With headlines coming

    READ MORE
  • The New Catholic Radicals0

    Integralism’s challenge to religious freedomIllustration by Robert Hunt The twentieth century saw an explosion of secular political movements and secularization, suppressing and marginal­izing religion in many parts of the world. In milder cases these secularizing movements only suppressed the political expression of faith, such as in Turkey and India; in the USSR and Mao’s China,

    READ MORE
  • The Indispensable Founders0

    Those who disparage the principle of separation of church and state face an inconvenient reality: the religious freedom legacy of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. In 1947, at the cusp of a cold war that would pit “one nation under God” against “godless Communism,” the U.S. Supreme Court entered the fray over the relationship between

    READ MORE
  • Interview: Defending Belief0

    For religious liberty to make sense, society must see religious belief as somehow special; something inherently worthy of legal protection. Is this view still defensible? Fifteen years ago, when Ross Douthat became the New York Times’ youngest-​ever opinion columnist, religious belief in America and other Western nations seemed to be approaching its use-by date. It

    READ MORE
  • Case in Point March/April 20250

    Supreme Court Watch The recent addition of three major religious freedom cases to the Supreme Court docket means its 2024-2025 term could yield some blockbuster First Amendment decisions. In Mahmoud v. Taylor a group of Muslim and Christian parents is challenging a decision by a county school board in Maryland to end religion-based “parental opt-outs”

    READ MORE
  • Burning Down the House0

    Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025), by Katherine Stewart. In her new book, Katherine Stewart builds a well-researched argument that democracy is under attack from an unlikely alliance of ultrawealthy financiers, intellectuals, and right-wing influencers. Stewart displays her skills as a veteran investigative journalist as she exposes

    READ MORE
  • Adam and Eve Go to School

    Adam and Eve Go to School0

    An enduring dispute in American public education concerns teaching about human origins and whether students must receive instruction solely on evolution or can learn about the Genesis account of creation in science classes. A recent Indiana case, Reinoehl v. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, demonstrates how this dispute lingers on, almost a century after the first case

    READ MORE