According to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the values and priorities of young adults are shifting dramatically from those of generations past, particularly when es to work, education, and family. “Most of today’s Americans believe that educational and economic plishments are extremely important milestones of adulthood,” the study concludes. “In contrast, marriage and parenthood rank low: over half of Americans believe that marrying and having children are not very important in order to e an adult.” Comparing...

Note: This is post #15 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 Homeland Security Department: Department of Homeland Security Current Secretary:John F. Kelly Succession:The Secretary of Homeland Security is 18th (and last) in the presidential line of succession. Department Mission:“To secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from...

The following essay appeared Friday, May 5, 2017, at Crux. In a recent message by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Academy of Social Science he outlines some moral concerns about a phenomenon he sees as invading (his term) “high levels of culture and education in both universities and in schools,” namely “libertarian individualism.” On the first day of my philosophy classes, the professor admonished us that if we want to have an intelligent discussion or debate, we must begin by...

Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...

If only there were evil people somewhere mitting evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart? These are among the most often cited lines, for good reason, in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago. In a 2010 interview for Acton’s Religion & Liberty, Solzhenitsyn...

“Jesus not only sought to bring a spiritual salvation,” says Abraham Kuyper in this week’s Acton Commentary, “but also countered human misery and did so up until the very end.” He fed the thousands and healed the sick; the blind could see, the mute could speak, and the dead were raised. This was in no way just a peripheral matter for him, as is proved in that, when John the Baptist investigated his messiahship, Jesus did not tell his messengers...

When I was growing up, my brother and I would occasionally play something akin to penny poker, doling out an equal amount of “chips,” in whatever form they took, and playing until someone took the whole pile. Unfortunately, the games never lasted very long. Knowing that there was nothing at stake—not even pennies—one of us would soon bet everything on a lark and the game would be over. The risk didn’t affect us, so there was never a need to...

The trade deficit has been in the news on both sides of the Atlantic in recent days. Shortly before winning the first round of the French presidential elections, Emmanuel Macron said, “Germany benefits from the imbalances within the eurozone and achieves very high trade surpluses. Those aren’t a good thing, either for Germany or for the economy of the eurozone. There should be a rebalancing.” Just days later, President Donald Trump tweeted that U.S. GDP grew at a low rate,...

Europe mitting “suicide” due in large part to its rejection of its own values, according to an op-ed just published in the UK. Author Douglas Murray is an atheist and no social issues warrior. Nonetheless, he highlights the role that encroaching secularism, relativism, and cultural self-doubt play in the approaching European endgame: Europe today has little desire to reproduce itself, fight for itself or even take its own side in an argument. Those in power seem persuaded that it would...

What just happened? Yesterday the governor of Puerto Rico announced the island would seek to deal with its $70 billion debt crisis in federal bankruptcy court, marking the largest municipal “bankruptcy” filing in U.S. history. How did Puerto Rico’s debt crisis happen? During the Spanish-American War in the late 1890s the U.S. military invaded the Spanish-owned island of Puerto Rico. After the war ended, the U.S. retained control, making the islands an unincorporated territory and the residents U.S. citizens. In...