Ross Douthat has an excellent article explaining how governmental entities seem to be narrowly interpreting "religious liberty": THE words “freedom of belief” do not appear in the First Amendment. Nor do the words “freedom of worship.” Instead, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans something that its authors called “the free exercise” of religion. It’s a significant choice of words, because it suggests a recognition that religious faith cannot be reduced to a purely private or individual affair. Yet that's exactly what some want, as evidenced in the Chick-fil-A imbroglio, the HHS … [Read more...] about Defining Religious Liberty Down
Archives for July 2012
The Value of Manual Labor
Great post from Karen Swallow Prior: I’m married to a building trades teacher who works every day with students who might chafe at studying the liberal arts but have skills that can meet the needs of the current workforce and produce satisfaction and dignity as those gifts are used. Indeed the latest research shows that jobs requiring an associate’s degree, vocational training, and on-the-job training are among the greatest current workforce needs. As the poet W. H. Auden put it, “You owe it to all of us to get on with what you're good at.” Read the whole thing. … [Read more...] about The Value of Manual Labor
Capitalism has an image problem
Last December a Pew Research survey found that 18-29 year olds had a more negative perception of capitalism (47-46) and a more positive perception of socialism (49-43). That's consistent with what Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute describes in this WSJ article: "Capitalist" has become an accusation. The creative destruction that is at the heart of a growing economy is now seen as evil. Americans increasingly appear to accept the mind-set that kept the world in poverty for millennia: If you've gotten rich, it is because you made someone else poorer. He goes on to explain how … [Read more...] about Capitalism has an image problem
Jonathan Merritt, Integrity, and Sexual Purity
If you don't know him, Jonathan Merritt is a nationally respected writer and news personality. He's written two books, Green Like God and A Faith of Our Own, and has written for USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, BeliefNet, Christianity Today, The Huffington Post, and CNN.com. As Ed Stetzer reported: Recently, after Jonathan, in a piece written for The Atlantic, defended Chick-fil-A against a potential boycott by gay activists, a "gay evangelical" blogger claimed he had evidence Jonathan himself was gay. In the parlance the effort was to "out him." … [Read more...] about Jonathan Merritt, Integrity, and Sexual Purity
Chick-fil-A, Free Speech, and Public Office
There's an angle to this beyond whether or not to eat at Chick-fil-A. The mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, has vowed to block Chick-fil-A's effort to open an outlet in his city because the restaurant chain supposedly "discriminates against a population." Likewise in Chicago, Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno told the Chicago Tribune, "If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don't want you in the 1st Ward." Chick-fil-A wants to open a new restaurant in the 2500 block of North Elston Avenue. Moreno has the support of Chicago's Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who told the Tribune in a … [Read more...] about Chick-fil-A, Free Speech, and Public Office
In Defense of Eating at Chick-fil-A
Jonathan Merritt, author of A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars, a book (for the record) that I have not examined, and which received significant push-back, has written an article for The Atlantic with which I fully resonate. He asks the question: Do we really want a country where people won't do commerce with those who have beliefs different than their own? I think most of us would say no, we don't. We're happy to buy things from people who disagree with us on any number of issues, provided their products and services are good and/or reasonably priced. Merritt … [Read more...] about In Defense of Eating at Chick-fil-A