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Declaring Independence

Matthew Schmitz

American Heretics:Religious Adversaries of Liberal Orderby jerome e. copulskyyale, 384 pages, $40 In the summer of 1775, amidst the heat of revolution, two hundred armed men gathered in Prince...

Middlebrow Protestantism

Matthew Schmitz

In 1979, a player for the Baltimore Orioles named Pat Kelly hit a home run and raised a finger in the air. A reporter later asked whether Kelly had...

Tulsi Gabbard’s Culture Wars

Matthew Schmitz

Tulsi Gabbard’s public career began with opposition to same-sex marriage. It’s a fact about the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii (who recently endorsed Donald Trump and joined his transition...

Clint Eastwood’s Law

Matthew Schmitz

In the course of his seven-decade career, Clint Eastwood has come to be identified with a single striking proposition. Appearing as a hard-bitten detective, a nondescript pilot, or an...

The Fall of Pride

Matthew Schmitz

On June 2, 2024, protestors temporarily halted the Philly Pride Parade. They were not congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church or representatives of the Proud Boys but members of...

The New Midlife Crisis

Matthew Schmitz

Check all the boxes, then chuck it all aside at forty to follow your muse. Play by the rules and win, only to decide that you don’t want the...

JD Vance, Religious Populist

Matthew Schmitz

For at least a generation, the phrase “religious right” has evoked a style of politics marked by hortatory rhetoric, foreign-policy interventionism, and support for the free movement of people...

Biden’s Collegiate Catholicism

Matthew Schmitz

Whereas John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to view his Catholic faith as a private matter, Joe Biden has made his faith a defining element of his public identity. Biden...

The Anti-Family Right

Matthew Schmitz

In certain corners of the internet, a new form of anti-feminism is gaining currency. Rather than extol family values, it questions the institution of marriage. Instead of hymning heterosexual...

How Nebraska Became the Volleyball State

Matthew Schmitz

On August 3, more than 92,000 people filled Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, to view a women’s college volleyball match between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Omaha Mavericks. It...

Liberalism’s Cold War

Matthew Schmitz

Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Timesby samuel moynyale university, 240 pages, $27.50 In the 1940s and 1950s, liberalism betrayed itself. Whereas once it...

The Haunting of Russell Kirk

Matthew Schmitz

Russell Kirk was haunted by the past. Ghosts prowled his house, peering through windows, moving furniture, startling guests. Far from resenting these presences, Kirk welcomed them. For he regarded...

The Pope of Peace

Matthew Schmitz

Amidst a war involving the world’s foremost nuclear powers, Pope Francis has been a lonely voice for peace. For his pains, he has been criticized by commenters on left...

Hazards of Nationalism

Matthew Schmitz

Anti-Christian vio­lence is on the rise in Israel. Jewish extremists have attacked Christian sites six times since the new year, compared to nine such attacks in the whole of...

How Gay Marriage Changed America

Matthew Schmitz

In November 2022, the ACLU’s deputy director for transgender justice came out against gay marriage. “I find it disappointing how much time and resources went into fighting for inclusion...