R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Elites and Judicial Supremacy

Over at Public Discourse, Robert Lowry Clinton weighs in on the ascendancy of the Supreme Court as the Supreme Legislature that dictates national affairs. Clinton argues that the emergence of an activist judiciary stems from an elite attempt to retain power over and against a democratic majority. . . . . Continue Reading »

8 Oct 2010

The Antinomian Gospel

In a recent posting, Tony Campolo effuses about the inclusive ministry of Jesus . Jesus, he writes, “was always reaching out to the marginalized.” Therefore, he concludes, evangelicals need to affirm homosexuals and support the political effort to secure for gays and lesbians “all . . . . Continue Reading »

7 Oct 2010

The Importance of Religious Freedom

The Sunday edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer features an op-ed arguing for the importance of religious freedom, not just in the United States, but abroad as well. The authors, Christian Sahner and Bennett Graham observe that religious freedom plays a fundamental role in the development of a . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Sep 2010

New York’s Third World Airport

I was enjoying the sharp and angular writing at Taki’s Magazine, an online journal that offers delicious little appetizers, or as the website puts it “Cocktails, Countesses & Mental Caviar”. Yes, caviar—tasty and salty. In a fun, rambling piece about . . . well, about lots . . . . Continue Reading »

23 Sep 2010

Islamic Leaders in America

A helpful discussion on the role of Islam in America by Thomas F. Farr—posted on The Public Discourse —points out the ways in which the recent controversy about an Islamic Center near Ground Zero threatens to side-track the positive contributions that Muslims can make in America. At the . . . . Continue Reading »

23 Sep 2010

How Do You Put the Catholic Into Catholic Higher Education?

In a commentary published by The Chronicle of Higher Education , David House looks back and assesses the influence of Pope John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae . House takes an optimistic view, reading the last couple of decades as a muted, but . . . . Continue Reading »

17 Sep 2010

D’Souza Unconvincing

Third World anti-colonialism as the key to the policies and decisions of the Obama administration? After reading the Forbes cover story by Dinesh D’Souza, “ How Obama Thinks ,” I found myself scratching my head. In D’Souza’s account, the interpretive key to the Obama . . . . Continue Reading »

15 Sep 2010

Religion in the Modern World

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15 Sep 2010

Elite Leadership and Anxiety About Islam

As September 11 passed, I found myself thinking about the Ground Zero mosque, and the bizarre on-again, off-again story of planned Koran burning in Florida. Why, I found myself wondering, have these stories come to the fore? I’m more and more convinced that these strange episodes—as well . . . . Continue Reading »

15 Sep 2010

The Golden-Mouthed Preacher

Today the Church remembers St. John Chrysostom, a great preacher and leader in the early Church. Made Archbishop of Constantinople in 398, he was impolitic enough to denounce the opulence, hypocrisy, and debauchery of the imperial court, earning him banishment in 403. While I was writing a . . . . Continue Reading »

13 Sep 2010