When 16-year-old Greta Thunberg stood before the UN Climate Action Summit, she “announced a sort of secular apocalypse,” writes Rev. Robert A. Sirico. This issue of Religion & Liberty focuses on the siren song of alarmism, and how people of faith should approach the very real environmental debate.

The Acton Institute’s executive editor, Religion & Liberty, John Couretas, contributes the cover story on moving beyond the environmental apocalypse. “Regrettably, too many religious leaders have bought into the apocalyptic hysteria and urgent demands for sweeping, top-down solutions,” he writes.

We are privileged to feature an essay from John A. Baden, the founder of Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), which develops his “trinity” of environmental virtues: responsible liberty, sustainable ecology, and modest prosperity.

Anne Rathbone Bradley examines how economic freedom transforms a growing population into a resource for ecological healing. “More people, rather than fewer, add to human prosperity,” she writes. “What good is a planet with no one in it?”

“The antidote to alarmism” proposes the most important Bible verse for the current environmental dialogue.

The inherently corrupting nature of government-to-government aid has drawn the attention of Pope Francis, as Andrew Vanderput documents in his invaluable essay. Doug Bandow warns that surveillance is an integral part of socialism.

Philip Booth continues his thoughts on national healthcare from the Spring 2019 issue, noting that “Christians should take a special interest” in the topic due to its ethical dimensions.

“In the liberal tradition” remembers the forgotten president, classical scholar, and Christian minister James Garfield, whose rags-to-riches story inspired even Frederick Douglass.

We hope this issue helps dispel the pessimism that obscures the most prosperous era in history.