R. R. Reno

I’m committed to it. You should be, too. The inequality’s a scandal in our society. Like good schools, marriage has become something the rich can take for granted. Everybody else? Well, they’ve got to make it on their own. We need to do something about this. It’s time to get . . . . Continue Reading »

I’d like to explain our new approach to publishing First Things online. First, we give away at least three articles every month, as we did in the past. There’s been no change in that policy. We want to engage readers as much as possible.  Continue Reading »

What is inequality? It’s the unbalanced distribution of power and control over wealth and innovation, government and culture, society and neighborhoods—over our lives. That distribution is changing in our society. We can all feel it. At this point the conversation is focused on income . . . . Continue Reading »

In 2008 the Supreme Court of Connecticut decided that the provision of civil unions for same-sex couples violated the state constitution guaranteeing equality. Marriage, the majority opinion argued, is an institution with a long history. Unlike the recent legal invention of civil unions, it has a . . . . Continue Reading »

On Saturday Eric Holder announced he will apply the recent Supreme Court Windsor ruling as widely as possible. “In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law.” Continue Reading »

Francis and the MarketIn Evangelii Gaudium, the apostolic exhortation released just before Thanksgiving, Pope Francis focuses mostly on the Christian imperative of sharing the Gospel. He devotes somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 percent of this 50,000-word document to advice about how to preach a . . . . Continue Reading »

We think of unbelief as the enemy of piety. To a certain extent that’s true. But there’s a more profound threat. Sovereign desire wars against faith with the greatest ferocity. . . . Continue Reading »

Dear Readers, welcome to the new First Things website! We still have the same great content, including new material every day. But our look has changed, and we’ve added new functions. . . . Continue Reading »

Predictions are dicey business. Absent the gift of prophecy we can’t know the future. But we can speculate. Here’s what I see in the coming year. . . . Continue Reading »

Theology is the Queen of the Sciences. Sometimes that’s not obvious. But a recent posting by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick demonstrates that when it comes to coffee, theology provides profound metaphysical insights into that most necessary of refreshments.Brilliant exposition of the inner meaning . . . . Continue Reading »