Islam is a vast religion, boasting millions of adherents, spanning large areas of the globe, and passing thirteen centuries of history. Muslims are united in their belief in the one transcendent, immanent God of pure singularity. They hold the Qur'an to be the literal word of God, eternally coexisting with God, and transmitted to all the prophets beginning with Adam, but only purely, undefiled, pletely to Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets. Islam spread by the sword, proselytization, spiritual...

On September 30, 1982, three people in the Chicago area died from cyanide introduced into Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. The link between the deaths and the tainted capsules was made with remarkable speed, and authorities notified Johnson and Johnson. As the number of deaths grew—the final total was seven—the firm faced a crisis and, indeed, potential disaster. Tylenol, a leading pain-reliever, was Johnson and Johnson's single largest brand, accounting for almost 18 percent of the corporation's e. The executives involved...

One branch of Quakers – the unprogrammed, officially called Friends (the organizational name for the Quaker religion is the Religious Society of Friends) – believe that God is in each person and that he leads humans to truth, not through adherence to creeds or confessions, but purely through the Spirit by means of experiential understanding and evidence. This experiential evidence manifests itself in the statements of Friends who speak up at a meeting, either voicing their thoughts or reading...

The “Catholic Framework For Economic Life” (CFEL) prepared by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops provides new optimism for all of us in the global economy. The CFEL consists of 10 essential points that help balance societal obligations on one hand with business and economic decisions in petitive environment on the other. Now more than ever, the balance provided in the CFEL is critical. As everyone knows, moral, ethical decisions can conflict with corporate goals of profit maximization and...

In any discourse about the modern welfare state, rehearsing all the religious and moral reasons for assisting those in need is unnecessary. Citing one passage from the Gospel will do: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these members of My family, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). However, this sensitivity does not emancipate us from the obligation to prudently and wisely consider the most appropriate means to carry out...

The renewed emphasis on the study of Roman Catholic social teaching and how it can contribute to the rebuilding of the culture of life presents many challenges. A formidable one is relaying the essentials of that teaching to the average person in a way that simply and concretely captures the imagination. This is especially necessary today as the linkage between religious values and good citizenship appears all but broken. Indeed, people who believe in God are being pushed farther...

I recently attended a seminar at which a speaker expressed his strong conviction that a deep conflict exists between seeking God’s kingdom and conducting a successful business enterprise. The speaker then went on to blame the market economy for promoting a system inimical to the Christian faith. Casting the market economy in the image of a giant octopus, he described how human beings e the fish caught in its ubiquitous tentacles. Even if a trapped fish manages to lop...

Sometimes we advocates of the free and virtuous society e so wrapped up in defending its technical merits that we neglect to deliberate on the broader, more fundamental reason for promoting a free economy as part of this society. To avoid (or correct) this tendency, we should pause to wipe clean whatever particular lens we have been looking through and ponder what the true goal for the market should be. That goal should be solidarity. Solidarity includes accepting that...

President George W. Bush has stated that the goal of the military campaign is to bring liberty to the people of Iraq. Although he is less specific about exactly which types of liberty, he would surely include economic and religious liberties. The president is a strong supporter of freedom in the marketplace, and he is mitted to freedom and vitality in matters of faith and religion. But some might wonder whether it is doable in Iraq, a country notably...

We devote Religion & Liberty to recognizing and discussing the delta that forms when faith, religion, liberty, economics, and e together. Depicting the exact contours of this entire delta is, of course, much too ambitious for this short column. Instead, I would like to consider just one of the tributaries pouring into it, namely, liberty. Liberty should be understood as something that is not an end in itself. True liberty remains accountable to greater principles of faith and morality....

Contrary to the libertine assumptions pervading our contemporary society, property rights, liberty, and even life itself – the bases of any functional economic order – do not exist as ends in themselves, but rather as elements within a greater framework of religious faith and morality. Historically, Christianity established this religious and moral framework for Western culture. Today, to the extent a larger framework is recognized at all, contemporary advocates, both Christian and secular, tend to rely on human dignity...

Old-style leftist politics is making a eback in Latin America. In Brazil, an avowed socialist and anti-capitalist has taken power in a landslide vote. Luiz Lula da Silva’s first day as president ended with a dinner with Cuba’s Fidel Castro. Also joining him was Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, who is pursuing a leftist agenda and promising a full crackdown on “terrorists” and “traitors” who oppose him. In Ecuador, new president Lucio Gutierrez, a retired army colonel, holds similar political...