R. R. Reno

The Return of Strong Religion

The wind has shifted. People want hard religion, not easy religion. They seek out communities that are demanding…
Carl R. Trueman

Lessons from the Decline of Protestant Churches

Reports of the financial struggles and decline in membership among large American denominations have become so commonplace that…
Mary Harrington portrait
Mary Harrington

Sex in the Frame

I doubt the readers of First Things need persuading that pornography is bad. It might feel invigorating to…
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Elon’s Family Values

Matthew Schmitz
A battle has broken out on the American right. Two visions of what it means to have children are contending for supremacy. On one side stands the genetic-determinist right, which…

In Search of Turkish Delight

Valerie Stivers

In a final scene of ­Dorothy Sayers’s 1930 novel Strong ­Poison, a murderer devours a large quantity…

The Return of Strong Religion

R. R. Reno

The wind has shifted. People want hard religion, not easy religion. They seek out communities that are…

Goldilocks Protestantism

Brad East

Imagine a world without Protestantism. I don’t mean a world without Christians who are neither Catholic nor…

Radical Disembodiment

Liel Leibovitz

Super Bowl ads are a great American art form. Paying eight million dollars or more for a…

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PODCASTS More Podcasts

Conversations

The End of White Privilege

Host: Mark Bauerlein GUEST: A.J. Rice

The latest installment of an ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein. A.J. Rice joins in to discuss his recent book, The White Privilege Album: Bringing Racial Harmony to…

Conversations

Fulton Sheen: Master Evangelist

Host: Mark Bauerlein GUEST: Cheryl Hughes

The latest installment of an ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein. Cheryl Hughes joins in to discuss her recent book, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker. The conversation…

Conversations

Woke vs. The Left

Host: Mark Bauerlein GUEST: David Rieff

The latest installment of an ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein. David Rieff joins in to discuss his recent book, Desire and Fate. The conversation is embedded below….

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On the Square MORE ON THE SQUARE

The Two Sides of the Dallas Charter

Thomas G. Guarino
Cardinal Wilton Gregory has now retired as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. In 2001, Gregory was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The following year,…

Wisconsin Denies the Religious Dimensions of Charity

Jack Fitzhenry

In 2016, the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission ruled that the Catholic Charities Bureau is ineligible…

The Pitfalls of Making America “Hot” Again

Virginia Aabram

Over the last four years, a refrain in the MAGA movement gave hope to those recoiling from…

The Singularity Has Already Happened

Tobias Huber

Recent feats in so-called artificial intelligence have not only ignited Terminator-inspired apocalyptic fears but have also revived…

The Many Faces of Capitalism

Peter J. Leithart

To most Americans, “capitalism” means “free economy,” a market system in which individuals and freely formed groups…

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Essays MORE ESSAYS

The Pillar and Foundation of Truth: A Statement by Evangelicals and Catholics Together

Evangelicals and Catholics Together

As the People of God, the Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s very body…

Who Owns the Embryos?

Ericka Andersen

For Emily Ballou, it seemed like the perfect solution. She had always wanted to adopt a child…

AI Doesn’t Know What It’s Doing

Thomas Fowler

Artificial intelligence is an umbrella term covering ­many beliefs about the powers possessed by computers, both now…

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Reviews MORE REVIEWS

Sex in the Frame

Mary Harrington

I doubt the readers of First Things need persuading that pornography is bad. It might feel invigorating…

Confession Eclipsed

James F. Keating

It is often said that the end of Latin as the Church’s liturgical language was the most…

No Country for Christendom

Martin Gramling

The Armagnac was low in the bottle when my host erupted on the subject of American empire.…

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Poetry More Poetry

Honeymoon Road Signs on I-10 East in Arizona 

J. C. Scharl

Zero visibility possible,you read aloud. The logic’s water-tight:there’s always a good chance for lack of sight.  We…

The End of Politics

Ben Myers

The living soul will demand life, the living soul won’t listen to mechanics, the living soul is…

The End of March 

Sally Thomas

Stands of bearded iris, purple in mourningSpring up, early, among their cool green speartips,Pale and pointed, palmlike,…

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