In August, the New York Times launched the ‘1619 Project,’ an initiative that includes school curriculum, videos, and a podcast, which aims to “reframe” the history of America’s founding around slavery. The Times claims that since the year 1619, “[n]o aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed.” So what is the Times trying to plish with the ‘1619 Project’? Ismael Hernandez, founder and director of the Freedom &...

Congregations in China’s officially recognized Protestant church have been forced to replace mandments to Moses with a quotation about the triumph of socialism, according to a religious liberty watchdog. The action literally substitutes socialism as an idol, in violation of the First Commandment.The Chinese government’s attempt to change the teachings of the60,000-church Three-Self Patriotic Movement unmasks how socialism crushesreligious liberty and reduces Christians to subservience – or elevates them to martyrdom. The magazineBitter Harvestreports: The Ten Commandments are the basis...

Today is Constitution Day, which is observed every year to remember the Founding Fathers signingthe Constitution on September 17, 1787. Here are five facts you need to know about the Constitution: 1. Neither Thomas Jefferson nor John Adams signed the Constitution, nor attended the Constitutional Convention. Adams served as our representative to Great Britain, and Jefferson represented U.S. interests in France. Both died on July 4, 1826. 2. promisedid e about because the Founding Fathers considered African-Americans “three-fifths of a...

“If you are a socialist, and you are toying with the idea of writing a book – now is the time to do so,” writes Kristian Niemietz. “There seems to be an infinite demand for this message right now,” he states in a new book review posted atReligion & Liberty Transatlanticat the author’s request. Niemietz, the head of political economy at the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), reviews The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era...

Acton’s own Alejandro Chafuen recently returned from a visit to England, and today in Forbes he offers a few of his impressions and analyses of the contentious Brexit process. The political machinations of the current situation are seemingly endless, but its ramifications are more than just political. As Chafuen points out, for instance, the ongoing saga brings uncertainty for anyone who does business in the UK. “We have many issues that go to a referendum in Switzerland. But after the...

In this week’s Acton Commentary, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg looks at how “scientism” treats the scientific method as the only way of knowing anything and everything. Without dismissing the real achievements of modern science, he notes that “one side-effect of these triumphs was that some began treating the empirical sciences as the only form of true reason and the primary way to discern true knowledge … ” Notwithstanding these serious flaws with scientism, its acceptance has two effects on...

The newest issue ofReligion & Libertyhas been uploaded. You can view it here. This issue ofReligion & Libertyfocuses on higher education in all its fulness. Two statistics throw the college tuition crisis into stark relief: Since 1978 – the year the federal government offered subsidized loans to all students – the cost of college tuition has risen by 1,375 percent. And another 1,400 students default on those loans every day. The cover story by Anne Rathbone Bradley unravels the crisis...

I am in the curious position of being a blogger who distrusts opinions. The late yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar put it best when he wrote, “An opinion is yesterday’s right or wrong knowledge warmed up and re-served for today’s situation.” Too often opinion is divorced from both personal experience and rigorous thought. F.A. Hayek’s essay “The Intellectuals and Socialism” is an attempt at defining the nature and function of professional opinion-havers. His description of them as, “second hand dealers in...

“If you want less of something, tax it,” the old adage goes. If that is the case, why is a prominent European newspaper reporting that the number of millionaires increased after one nation introduced a wealth tax? “Number of super-rich in Spain grows 74% since reintroduction of wealth tax,” a headline in Spain’sEl Paisreportedrecently. Here are the facts: Background Spain introduced a wealth tax (Patrimonio) in 1977 as a “temporary” measure. In 1991, lawmakers admitted the 14-year-old tax would be...

The week after Donald Trump tweeted a message proclaiming himself the ing of God,” I decided to say a prayer to the “King of Israel” (although quietly, since my bishop encouraged me to pray so softly that no parishioner would hear me). I am assured that literally thousands of priests in this country have joined me in standing before our altars and whispering an identical prayer, using the same moniker. This is not a confession of idolatry nor an insider’s...