R. R. Reno

Given the fact that the regular opinion writers for our nation's establishment liberal paper so often indulge in denunciation, I find it more than a little odd that everyone is hysterical about Donald Trump's intemperate rhetoric. Continue Reading »

Over the last few years, I've been making a case for a strong Christian witness in today's society. Continue Reading »

I can’t imagine a policy more irrelevant to the problems facing our society than bathroom privileges for transgender students. The bottom half of American society is collapsing. Voters are revolting against establishment candidates, casting doubt on the economic and cultural . . . . Continue Reading »

♦ I’m grateful to Mary Ann Glendon for her generous response to my heretical rejections of dialogue and human rights (“Reclaim Human Rights”). She’s surely right that the wisest course of action will require witness and real dialogue rather than the “let’s talk until you capitulate” . . . . Continue Reading »

In other circumstances, the bad odor of the Clintons would be off-putting. But our leadership class has just received a shock: They have become aware that their consensus isn’t as widely shared as they imagined. Continue Reading »

Today is the most important day in European politics since the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Continue Reading »

Last week, Thomas Mair murdered Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox in a village in northern England. Yesterday, Parliament paid tribute to her in a special session. To judge by the speeches, British politicians are just as attracted to the explanatory power of “hate” in political violence as are their . . . . Continue Reading »

We all know that Omar Mateen’s rampage fits a pattern. But this pattern points to descriptions and explanations that are unpalatable, because they put demands on our leaders and us. So politicians and pundits default to a therapeutic stance. They call the slaughter a “tragedy,” in order to avoid giving it meaning. Continue Reading »

Dear Readers, Supporters, and Friends,

There's still time to contribute to the mission of First Things. Continue Reading »

Francis reminds us that the Eucharist is not “a prize for the perfect.” But marriage, apparently, is. Continue Reading »