People of faith in Europe increasingly face exclusion from whole professions because of their moral beliefs. I write about the latest chapter in this tale – how disregarding the free market helped cause it, and how free market economic principles can help alleviate it – in a mentary for The Steam. Ellinor Grimmark, the midwife at the heart of the Swedish court case. Last week, the Swedish Labour Court ruled against Ellinor Grimmark, a pro-life midwife who has been denied...

As two bombs exploded inside Coptic churches on Palm Sunday, the shock reverberated around the world. “In just seconds, the entire church was filled with smoke, fire, blood, and screams,” Fr. Daniel Maher, who was serving in St. George Coptic Church on Palm Sunday when the first bombing attack took place, told the Associated Press. Fr. Daniel survived, but his son, Beshoy, was among the 44 deaths recorded so far. But the world, and especially the Church, neither suffers nor...

Now that we’re within a few days of the 100-day deadline, though, President Trump has changed his mind. Yesterday, he said he will not be labeling China a currency manipulator. Whatever you feel about the flip-flop, Trump’s rhetoric had caught up with reality: China hasn’t devalued its currency since 2014. In fact, for the past few years China has tried to prop up the renminbi (their currency, which we know as the ‘yuan’) for to keep it from falling. But...

This week’s Acton Commentary is a meditation by the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), reflecting on the significance of spring for our natural and spiritual lives. “So that bread e forth from the earth” takes its point of departure from the lines of Psalm 104: “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man: that he may bring forth bread out of the earth.” Pieces like this show another side of Kuyper than...

Note: This is post #12 in a weekly series of explanatory posts on the officials and agencies included in the President’s Cabinet. See the series introductionhere. Cabinet position:Secretary of Transportation Department: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Current Secretary:Elaine Chao Succession:The Transportation Secretary is 14th in the presidential line of succession. Department Mission:“The mission of the Department is to serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and...

Balneario de Antofagasta – By Victorddt – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 If you want to examine a flourishing Latin American economy, look no further than Chile. In a new article, Samuel Gregg capitulates an economic success story in Chile. The country has thrived by embracing liberal principles and respecting property rights and open markets. However, Gregg is wary of Chile’s future; he suspects it may be headed in the direction of European socialism. Gregg begins by recognizing the unique...

Anew study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation reports on the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. Here are seven figures you should know from the latest study ontrends in religious hostilities: 1. Of the 198 countries included in the study—covering 99.5 percent of the world’s population—105 (53 percent) experienced widespread government harassment of religious groups, up from 85 (43 percent) in 2014 and 96 (48 percent)...

Today is Good Friday*, the religious holiday memorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Christians have celebrated the event for over two millennia. But what was the date of the original Good Friday? Almost all scholars agree that Jesus was crucified in the spring of either A.D. 30 or A.D. 33. In their book,The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived, Andreas Köstenberger and Justin Taylor contend...

Public Domain Last week Dr. Jonathan S. Marko, Assistant Professor of Philosophical & Systematic Theology at Cornerstone University, spoke before some Acton Staff and local scholars on John Locke and the role of Scripture in public morality. The talk, “‘Ready Dug and fashioned’: John Locke on Scripture’s Primacy for Public Morality,” was followed by a lively question and answer session in which Dr. Marko graciously took on ers helping us better understand Locke’s moral philosophy and personal religious convictions. Dr....

Cuban officials have announced the island is turning to genetically modified organisms (GMO) to help feed its increasingly hungry population. Hunger is spreading in Cuba, something officials ascribe to higher levels of tourism. Tourists can afford to pay more for food, so they outbid the native population. The New York Times wrote that food insecurity is “upsetting the very promise of Fidel Castro’s Cuba” (though, in their defense, his reign owed much to their coverage). But Cuba’s use of GMOs,...