R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Rousseau’s Shame, and Lena Dunham’s

“Girls”—-the cable TV sitcom featuring young women recently graduated from Oberlin College who hook up, text about it, fret about it, and generally live the soft hedonism of elite culture—-is Seinfeld for millennials. Some think it exemplifies the decadence of upper middle . . . . Continue Reading »

13 Feb 2013

Private Companies and Religious Freedom

Today’s New York Times features an op ed by former executive editor Bill Keller. He weighs in on the religious liberty debate, especially the question of whether owners of for-profit companies can claim rights of religious liberty. It’s not the most clear-minded piece, but it raises the . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Feb 2013

The Lost World of Postwar America

“Strong, oddly cautious, a bit common (how cd he not be with those parents?) but unemotional, terre à terre, tough, quick, independent, ruthless, soulless, gifted, serious, anxious to pick up whatever he can.” So wrote Isaiah Berlin to his wife after meeting John Kennedy. The letter . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Feb 2013

Boy Scouts and Sex

Boy Scout national headquarters in Philadelphia. It was an ugly scene in Irving, Texas, when the Boy Scout decided on Wednesday to delay a vote on whether to end the policy of prohibiting openly gay leaders. From today’s Wall Street Journal : “In a Web conference with Scouts leaders on . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Feb 2013

A Dhimmitude of Sorts

I plan to write up a summary of where we stand on the recently released rules, or more accurately proposed partial rules, for the contraceptive mandate for the next issue of the magazine. In the meantime, I’ve found myself reflecting on the larger trends. Here is my general view. . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2013

A New Conversation on Marriage?

David Blankenhorn thinks the gay marriage debate has reached a dead end. He wants it to go in a new direction. Thus “ A Call for a New Conversation on Marriage ,” a manifesto of sorts from the Institute for American Values. Blankenhorn wants to form a coalition of the willing to renew the . . . . Continue Reading »

31 Jan 2013

Architecture and Solidarity

A friend wrote recently. He was responding to my observations about the role of public spaces in sustaining a robust sense of solidarity. Good architecture is a public good, he writes, and “bad architecture is regressive. There will always be bad buildings because there will always be budget . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Jan 2013

Religious Vision—Liberal Blindness

I’m a Christian intellectual. (I hope that’s true, on both counts). I have a PhD in theology. That’s what I know best. I participate in the Christian form of life, or at least I try to. It provides me with my most basic intellectual tools. This Christian way of thinking is not . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jan 2013

Liberal War on the Weak

Economic or market liberalism and social liberalism both privilege the strong over the weak. Over the last one hundred years we’ve developed a system of checks and balances empower the weak and limit the strong: progressive taxation, labor laws, environmental regulation, and more. We can . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Jan 2013

The New Inequality

It’s old news, but consistently ignored. In her 2011 book, Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men into Boys , Kay Hymowitz reports basic facts about gender, income, and status. Here are some arresting statistics. Women between 25-34 with college educations now outnumber men in their . . . . Continue Reading »

16 Jan 2013