R. R. Reno

The spectacle made me think of Prohibition, the last time rich white progressives imposed their moral views on the whole nation with a serene confidence in their rectitude and virtue. Hyperbolic, overheated criticism greeted governor Mike Pence’s decision to sign Indiana’s Religious Freedom . . . . Continue Reading »

Writing in National Review (“President Obama’s Civic Religion”), David French observes an irony in President Obama’s statements about religion and public life. The president has declared himself “a big believer in the separation of church and state,” saying he’s “very suspicious of . . . . Continue Reading »

The media make a big deal of Pope Francis when this or that utterance seems to signal that the Great Capitulation is imminent. Liberals have long hoped for the moment when the Catholic Church stops being “anti-modern,” which doesn't mean engaged with science, philosophically sophisticated, and . . . . Continue Reading »

Neuhaus, public intellectual? Yesterday, CBC radio ran a long segment on the legacy of Richard John Neuhaus. Native of Pembroke, Ontario, it's fitting that Canada's public radio would cover the publication of his biography, written by Randy Boyagoda, also a Canadian. RJN's a native son gone . . . . Continue Reading »

• George Scialabba thinks William Deresiewicz is exactly right about today’s deformed university culture. In a review essay (“Class and the Classroom,” Foreign Affairs), he recounts and endorses Deresiewicz’s ­account in Excellent Sheep of the soul-­destroying meritocratic competition . . . . Continue Reading »

The poor often suffer from a moral and spiritual poverty far more primitive than a lack of upward . . . . Continue Reading »

It's not a petition, strictly speaking. It's a statement of fidelity to the Catholic Church's historic teaching on sex and marriage. Originally signed by nearly five hundred English priests in March, it's now being circulated in the United States at credopriests.org and available for priest here to sign. Here's the statement: Continue Reading »

As I expected, the leaders of the Catholic Church have done everything they can to avoid saying anything in response to the furor over the Indiana RFRA. Their counsel is “dialogue,” an unfortunate weasel word long used by administrators who don't want to take a stand. Continue Reading »

Yesterday I put forward my analysis of the extraordinary propaganda blitz and its implications. In doing so, I said that no prominent Republicans have come forward to back Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana currently under attack. This is not true, and I've updated the post. Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Scott Walker has expressed support in one way or another. Continue Reading »

Meet Mary Stinemetz Continue Reading »