Keith Pavlischek

I was going to say something about Lisa Miller’s Newsweek cover story advocating for same-sex marriage on religious grounds. But I simply could not improve on Mollie Ziegler’s comments over at the indispensable GetReligion : It is no exaggeration to say the piece was an embarrassment. . . . . Continue Reading »

In “Moral Standards and Long-Term Wealth Creation in China” for the Canadian Christian journal Comment , Jonathan Wellum , a distinguished businessman and financier who also holds a theological degree warns that the “widespread belief that the twenty-first century belongs to China . . . . Continue Reading »

To the younger First Things readers, especially the men: If you are tempted to get your wife, or fiancée, or girlfriend something “practical” for Christmas, you probably should pause and take a look at this rather funny video on how to stay out of the doghouse. While . . . . Continue Reading »

In ” A Church for the Obamas ” Sally Quinn thinks the president-elect and his family should attend Washington National Cathedral. “Washington National Cathedral,” declares Quinn, “transcends politics and even the separation of religions. Though nominally an Episcopal . . . . Continue Reading »

You thought it was just another American presidential election. But Howard Adelman thinks there’s more to it than that. In an article ” Magic, Comedy, and Civic Religion ” for the Social Science Research Council’s journal, the Immanent Frame: Secularism, Religion, and the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Good UPI reports “About 6,000 Muslim clerics from around India approved a fatwa against terrorism Saturday at a conference in Hyderabad. According to the Fatwa “Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder, and plunder and does not allow it in any . . . . Continue Reading »

Sociologist John Schmalzbauer teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Missouri State University, where he holds the Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies. He really likes Barack Obama. Writing in a blog for the Social Science Research Council, he says, “Americans have . . . . Continue Reading »

Jay Mathews writing in this morning’s Washington Post reflects on A Crucial Decision for the Obamas: Private or Public? “Like many parents moving their children to Washington, Barack and Michelle Obama will be told to avoid D.C. public schools. Is that good advice?” Mathews is . . . . Continue Reading »

President-Elect Obama has named Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff, perhaps the most important single figure in his inner circle. In January 2005 Representative Emanuel was interviewed by the late Tim Russert, and asked about the Iraq war. MR. RUSSERT: You voted—you said you would have . . . . Continue Reading »

Slate is conducting an online discussion on the future of conservatism, titled The Conservative Crackup with contributions from Tucker Carlson, Ross Douthat, Douglas Kmiec, Jim Manzi, and Christine Todd Whitman. Kmiec weighs in with, “The Not-So-Grand, Really-Old-Idea Party” and Douthat . . . . Continue Reading »