R. R. Reno

Boy Scout national headquarters in Philadelphia. It was an ugly scene in Irving, Texas, when the Boy Scout decided on Wednesday to delay a vote on whether to end the policy of prohibiting openly gay leaders. From today’s Wall Street Journal : “In a Web conference with Scouts leaders on . . . . Continue Reading »

I plan to write up a summary of where we stand on the recently released rules, or more accurately proposed partial rules, for the contraceptive mandate for the next issue of the magazine. In the meantime, I’ve found myself reflecting on the larger trends. Here is my general view. . . . . Continue Reading »

Conservatism needs to recover its ability to speak to our deep and perennial need for solidarity. The economic freedom that encourages individuals to be productive and independent certainly needs to be promoted. We need more robust economic growth, and there’s an inherent dignity in earning a . . . . Continue Reading »

David Blankenhorn thinks the gay marriage debate has reached a dead end. He wants it to go in a new direction. Thus “ A Call for a New Conversation on Marriage ,” a manifesto of sorts from the Institute for American Values. Blankenhorn wants to form a coalition of the willing to renew the . . . . Continue Reading »

A friend wrote recently. He was responding to my observations about the role of public spaces in sustaining a robust sense of solidarity. Good architecture is a public good, he writes, and “bad architecture is regressive. There will always be bad buildings because there will always be budget . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m a Christian intellectual. (I hope that’s true, on both counts). I have a PhD in theology. That’s what I know best. I participate in the Christian form of life, or at least I try to. It provides me with my most basic intellectual tools. This Christian way of thinking is not . . . . Continue Reading »

“In Buddhism no creator,” says the Dalai Lama during a public conversation with Archbishop Desmond Tutu recounted in The Wisdom of Compassion: Stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan, recently abridged and published by the Huffington Post. It typifies the contributions the spiritual leader of Tibet makes, all of which raise questions. … Continue Reading »

Economic or market liberalism and social liberalism both privilege the strong over the weak. Over the last one hundred years we’ve developed a system of checks and balances empower the weak and limit the strong: progressive taxation, labor laws, environmental regulation, and more. We can . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s old news, but consistently ignored. In her 2011 book, Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men into Boys , Kay Hymowitz reports basic facts about gender, income, and status. Here are some arresting statistics. Women between 25-34 with college educations now outnumber men in their . . . . Continue Reading »

Today Commentary Magazine ’s website features my contribution to a symposium on the future of conservatism that was published in their January issue. These reflections are part of my larger concerns about the future of American conservatism, which I elaborate on in the Public Square in the . . . . Continue Reading »