Awhile back in a PowerBlog exclusive I asserted, “Many, if not most, young evangelicals are just as conservative on life issues as their forebears.” Here are some references to back that up: First, 70% Evangelicals 18-29 who favor “making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion.”55% Evangelicals 30 and older who favor this. (HT: Go Figure) From: “Young White Evangelicals: Less Republican, Still Conservative,” Pew Research Center. And next, “In attitudes toward education, drugs, abortion, religion, marriage,...

In one of this week’s Acton Commentaries, Ray Nothstine and I juxtapose a static, sedentary dependence on government subsidies with a dynamic, entrepreneurial spirit of innovation. The impetus for this short piece was an article that originally appeared in the Grand Rapids Press (linked in mentary). I have two things to say about these stories and then I want to add some further reflections on the world of agricultures subsidies. First, I found the article’s “hook” to be quite shoddy...

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is expected to address the topic of his Mormon faith in a speech at the George Bush Library in College Station, Texas, tomorrow. The parisons are being made to President John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, who gave a speech in 1960 to assuage the concerns of American protestants over papal influence in the White House. Kennedy’s speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association can be found here. In addition, there is also a link for...

Add another crisis to the list of problems caused by climate change – a lack of jet parking at small international airports. To be fair, this isn’t a direct consequence of climate change, but it wouldn’t be a problem in Bali, Indonesia right now if not for the big UN climate change shindig that’s going on. Via Newsbusters, a report on the urgent situation: Tempo Interaktif reports that Angkasa Pura – the management of Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport are...

For those of us who cherish liberty and the freedom we enjoy in the west to engage in spirited debate, stories like this are very disturbing: Up north, the Canadian Islamic Congress announced the other day that at least two of Canada’s “Human Rights Commissions” – one federal, one provincial – had agreed to hear plaints that their “human rights” had been breached by this “flagrantly Islamophobic” excerpt from my book, as published in the country’s bestselling news magazine, Maclean’s....

The Institute on Religion and Democracy has issued a background report on the drafting of a new “Social Creed for the 21st Century” by members of the National Council of Churches. As Alan Wisdom and Ralph Webb point out, the “strong ideological tilt” at the NCC (that would be to your left) “contrasts sharply with the careful efforts at balance evident in public policy guidelines produced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals.” What...

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, is scheduled to join Fox Business host David Asman tonight to discuss the new documentary, “What Would Jesus Buy?” They’ll be joined by documentary producer Morgan Spurlock and performance artist Bill Talen, of the “Church of Stop Shopping.” The segment is set to air between 7-8 p.m. Eastern time. Check your local listings — and expect a lively debate. Watch the WWJB? trailer here. Update: Here’s the interview… ...

The following is a statement by Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, on Mitt Romney’s Dec. 6 “Faith in America” speech: Mitt Romney is right that religion and morality are core convictions in American society. Our freedom depends on this, pletely agree. Without the ability to manage our lives morally, the state steps into the vacuum, both in response to public demand and to serve the state’s own interests in expanding power. But soon after spelling this...

What’s behind the stunning defeat of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez in a popular referendum this week? Undoubtedly, he overestimated the appeal of his “21st century socialism” among Latin Americans. A new poll also shows that the most trusted institution in Latin America is not the government — but the Catholic Church. Read the mentary here. ...

Are farmers hooked on pork? Jordan Ballor and Ray Nothstine look at the current battle over farm subsidies. “By encouraging the production of modities, the government is creating a cycle of dependency that undermines entrepreneurial initiative,” they write. Read the mentary here. ...