Matthew Schmitz

The Separation of Church and State is Impossible Rollo Romig, New Yorker Gambling and the Common Good Russell Moore, Moore to the Point Is Confucianism a Religion? Peter Berger, The  American Interest The Problematic Rhetoric of Religious Liberty Patrick Deneen, Front Porch Republic . . . . Continue Reading »

British Muslim to Pope: “West Needs Confident Christians” John L. Allen, Jr., National Catholic Reporter The Media’s Lies, Damned Lies, and the 98 Percent Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Get Religion HHS Mandate Lacks Legal Precedent Michael Fragoso, Public Discourse Interview with Sr. . . . . Continue Reading »

Something else for Valentine’s Day. Whit Stillman, close observer of the contemporary courtship rituals, has put out the trailer for his new film Damsels in Distress: First Things has published two notable articles on Stillman: One is an interview with the director from when he was making . . . . Continue Reading »

St. Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap, and very unfairly, I think. I’d like to take a moment to counter some of the most common objections. 1. The hipster objection. The first knock on Valentine’s Day is that it has become too commercialized: branded, rebranded, overstocked, undersold, and put . . . . Continue Reading »

In the pages of the liberal Jewish Daily Forward , Noam Neusner says that President Obama’s claim that religiously motivated schools and services are not truly religious runs counter to  tikkun olam , the Jewish obligation to do good to others: The Obama Administration has held – . . . . Continue Reading »

The Tyranny of Misunderstood Freedom James Kalb, Catholic World Report Morals and Mandates Sherif Girgis and Robert P. George, Public Discourse No Valentine for Obama Hadley Arkes, Catholic Thing Protesters Picket Chicago Cathedral Dan Hinkel, Chicago Tribune . . . . Continue Reading »

Jeremy Lin: The Next Tim Tebow? Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Get Religion Obama’s Ruse and Delay Matthew J. Franck, Public Discourse Pinning Down Liberalism Michael Liccione, Sacramentum Vitae The Importance of Roughhousing with Kids Brett and Kate McKay, Art of Manliness That Bogus 98 Percent . . . . Continue Reading »

White House to Announce Contraception Accommodation Jake Tapper, ABC News A Speedier Response by Bishops Laurie Goodstein,  New York Times Is Free Verse Immoral? Micah Mattix, Public Discourse Give Planned Parenthood Its Due Austin Ruse, Catholic Thing Get Dense Robert Bryce, City Journal . . . . Continue Reading »

From this morning’s First Links, here’s New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman arguing that we need to get rid of the warren that is today’s New York Penn Station: It’s time to address the calamity that is Penn Station. Nearly a half-century has passed since the . . . . Continue Reading »

Ninth Circuit Targets Anthony Kennedy Matthew J. Franck, Public Discourse Judicial Democracy Gerald Russello, Library of Law and Liberty Maggie Gallagher in Profile Mark Oppenheimer, Salon The Religion of Atheism Frank Furedi, Spiked Penn Station: A Disgrace That Must Be Replaced Michael Kimmelman, . . . . Continue Reading »