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Backing into Relativism

We have just come through a year with the Supreme Court in which the defenders of religious freedom racked up a string of famous victories. Famous, at least, to those who rejoiced in the outcomes and hoped that they foretold something lasting. But there are grounds to be less than cheered when we . . . . Continue Reading »

Diplomacy and Persecution in China

We are witnessing a global crisis in religious freedom, wherein roughly three-quarters of the world’s people live in nations where religion is highly or very highly restricted. China presents a particularly troubling case. The assault on religion currently taking place under President Xi Jinping . . . . Continue Reading »

Not Power But Glory

Jews and Christians alike pledge a higher loyalty that they honor in ways that seem incomprehensible to the world.” So writes Fr. Romanus Cessario in “Non Possumus” (February). As an example of such incomprehensible devotion, he cites the kidnapping of the child Edgardo Mortara in 1858. The . . . . Continue Reading »

A Less Corrupt Term

In these unusually turbulent times for the presidency and Congress, the Supreme Court’s latest term stands out for its lack of drama. There were no 5–4 end-of-the-term cases that mesmerized the nation. There were no blockbuster decisions. Even so, the Court was hardly immune to the steady . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

Exporting Freedom: Religious Liberty and American Power by anna su harvard, 296 pages, $39.95 Anna Su’s study of U.S. efforts to promote religious freedom abroad from 1898 through the present ends as it begins. In the Philippines in the early twentieth century and again in Iraq in the . . . . Continue Reading »

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