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  • Perverse Optimism0

    At a Capitol Hill meeting some years ago I heard a report that sounded utterly far-fetched. It was during a regular weekly gathering of human rights and religious freedom advocates, each representing a different government agency, nongovernmental organization, or faith group. Toward the end of that day’s agenda someone rose to speak. His concern? Organ

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  • Jokers, Clowns, and Purists0

    Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right; here I am, stuck in the middle with you,” sang Scottish folk-rock band Stealers Wheel. It’s a song that has been used by everyone from Quentin Tarantino to Sacha Baron Cohen to put a bit of punch into their movies. It also pops up with

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  • The Curious Case of a Misunderstood Idea0

    The secular state—a hallmark of Western liberal democracy—is under attack from both ends of the political spectrum. What does this mean for religious freedom? A renowned Australian theologian investigates.  Religious liberty is paramount for any multicultural democracy. That is because religious liberty interlocks with other liberties relating to freedoms of speech and association. The right

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  • The Palmer Raids0

    A tale of immigrants, free speech, and mass hysteria in the Land of the Free.  New York City, November 1919  A mathematics class is not typically a setting for subversion. Bespeckled teacher Michael Lavrowsky was busy conducting an algebra lesson for Russian immigrants at Manhattan’s Russian People’s House. Then 50 years old, the studious Lavrowsky

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  • Why Our Story Matters: Interview with Philip Gorski0

    What is the story of our nation? How did it begin, and what is its destiny? What values define what it means to be American? And does it matter how we answer those questions? In their recently released book, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy (Oxford University

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  • A Duty to Kill?0

    Illustration by Michael Glenwood A California law gives a new spin to the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.” The test results come back, and they’re not good. Your doctor explains that the cancer has advanced and that the chemo and radiation can do nothing, at this point, to help you. You probably have less

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