Today is the first Sunday of the Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week celebration of religious liberty in America. Church leaders, and preachers especially, have played an important role in our nation’s struggle for and preservation of this “first freedom.” In 1833, the American Quarterly Register articulated the important role that …
Today marks the beginning of the “Fortnight of Freedom.” This two-week period culminating on July 4 is a time to celebrate and defend America’s first freedom, religious liberty. Why make special effort to celebrate religious freedom now? Because religious freedom is a key pillar of the kind of life we …
How should one’s faith shape his or her engagement in the policy arena? Political Correspondent David Brody recently asked that question of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) concerning the Republican budget plan. In a taped interview for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Ryan, a Roman Catholic, identified care …
Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate has raised many questions about freedom. One of them is whether religious liberty is only for individuals or also for institutions. America’s founders thought that the Constitution’s “first freedom” is for both, a view backed up by the U.S. Supreme Court as well as numerous federal and …
The fact that the Obamacare anti-conscience mandate undermines religious liberty for faith-based organizations has been well-documented. Attracting less attention is the fact that many other organizations will be negatively impacted as well. As one report makes clear, the mandate—even with the Obama Administration’s proposed “accommodation”—runs afoul of the religious liberty …
This year marks the 35th anniversary of a small but extremely influential book: To Empower People, by Peter Berger and Richard John Neuhaus. If you’ve ever heard the term “mediating institutions,” this is the book that made it (more) popular. In their 45-page treatise, Berger and Neuhaus argue that a healthy nation relies on local …
The devastating tornadoes that ripped through the South and Midwest last week left broken homes and shattered lives in their wake. While the wind and rain still blew, churches, ministries, and charitable organizations fanned out across many states to help pick up the pieces. Public policy should respect the vital …
Once again, President Barack Obama has proposed lowering the income tax deduction for charitable giving. In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, the President calls for reducing the charitable deduction rate from 35 percent to 28 percent for those in the top tax bracket (individuals making $200,000 or more …
