R. R. Reno

We often hear that conservatism comes from a sober recognition of limits—getting mugged by reality. We are fallible, fallen creatures, and the conservative learns to doubt the efficacy of the grand schemes of progressivism, efforts of social transformation that often require the power of . . . . Continue Reading »

♦ Boys and girls are different. There, I’ve said it, a heresy of our time. We’re not supposed to suggest that a woman shouldn’t fight in combat, or that an athletic girl doesn’t have a right to play on the boys’ football team—or that a young woman doesn’t run a greater risk than a . . . . Continue Reading »

Dear Reader,

Thank you for being a part of our fall 2016 fundraising campaign! Continue Reading »

The title of New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s post-election column was an anguished cry: “America Elects a Bigot.” David Leonhart, another New York Times regular, expressed horror: “We’ve just finished an election that included unprecedented violations of America’s long-held . . . . Continue Reading »

♦ Sometimes reality outdoes the imagination. Some theologians at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University recently got together to issue a statement. Its authors “invite others into a larger conversation about life in a deeply divided country.” A fine sentiment—immediately . . . . Continue Reading »

What we need in 2017 and beyond is a renewal of covenant, of the paradoxically empowering bondage of loves and loyalties we gratefully affirm. Continue Reading »

For over 25 years, our mission at First Things has been to renew the religious foundations of our society. I know that goal looks increasingly remote. But the best defense is a good offense. We need to speak loudly, boldly, and theologically. We need help from readers like you in order to keep up with this task. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to First Things now.
Continue Reading »

A Canadian document shows cowardly bishops accommodating the culture of death and sanctioning a grotesque misuse of the sacraments. Continue Reading »

The drama of human history cannot be reduced to considerations of material wealth. The threats—or opportunities—posed by Putin’s Russia are a function of the countless free decisions made by leaders there and elsewhere, and those of their followers. Continue Reading »

The first chapter of Genesis is a grand liturgy of creation. The second chapter describes with existential immediacy the universal human longing for fulfillment. Subsequent chapters are given over to disaster and destruction. The primordial man and woman set human history on its path toward . . . . Continue Reading »