Have Christ and Christianity exerted a positive influence on the development of civilization? Eric Chabot summarizes the evidence that it has, touching on everything from slavery to economics to Medieval church music, and concludes his essay by pointing to an atheist scholar who agrees. What’s the upshot if Chabot is right? Something can be useful and still false, so it wouldn’t prove Christianity true. But recognizing that the Judeo-Christian tradition has benefited civilization, and to a degree unrivaled by any...

Ignatius Press is now carrying Acton’s PovertyCure DVD Series here: This widely acclaimed series focuses on the key question, How do people create prosperity for their families and munities? The purpose of this series is to encounter our brothers and sisters in the developing world not merely as people in need, not as aid recipients, not as charity projects, but as human beings created in the image of God and endowed with His divine creative spark. To learn more about...

Not the Chinese government, which e as no shock. But what about the United States? As thisWeekly Standardblog postpoints out, two prominent Hong Kong democracy advocates recently visited Washington in an attempt to secure American support for political reform there, but to little avail. The people of Hong Kong have long enjoyed economic freedom, often ranking at the top of the Heritage Foundation’sIndex of Economic Freedom. Since moving from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong has maintained much...

This month marks ten years since I left the Marine Corps. Although I love being a Marine I can honestly say that I don’t miss active duty. In fifteen years of service I sat on the sidelines during three separate wars, and like most Marines, being away from the action drove me insane. Although I had it easy, for some of rades, being on the supporting end back in the U.S. was almost as stressful and emotionally draining as being...

Few summed up the American Revolution for Independence better than Lord Acton when he declared, “No people was so free as the insurgents; no government less oppressive than the government which they overthrew.” I’ve written about Patriots’ Day on the Powerblog before, but it’s essentially a forgotten holiday. Only officially celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine and observed on the third Monday in April, Patriots’ memorates the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 of 1775. The...

Life is harsh in Twin Branch, W. Va. Despite the wide availability of food stamps, government-subsidized health care and school lunches, life is very difficult for most of the people living there. The War on Poverty, instituted by Lyndon Johnson 50 years ago, brought a lot of help to this area of the U.S., yet life is no better now, and indeed for many, worse than before that “War.” Trip Gabriel at The New York Times takes a look at...

On Saturday morning, Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico joined host Larry Kudlow on the nationally syndicated Larry Kudlow Show for a wide-ranging Easter weekend discussion. Sirico and Kudlow talked about everything from the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” to the collapse of poverty rates worldwide over the past few decades, and ended with a conversation about the ing canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, and a reflection on whether the march of secularism can...

The United States is often perceived as a land of religious freedom and pluralism. Has such a space allowed for the growth of a new generation of young Muslim leaders, activists, and artists? According to a recent article in TIME magazine, the rising prosperity and integration of Muslims in America is allowing for new Muslim leaders to emerge in the American public sphere. Because the United States is faring far better with Muslim cultural and societal integration than Europe, a...

Acton Institute President and Cofounder Rev. Robert A. Sirico spoke with Neil Cavuto this afternoon on Fox News Channel, discussing recent polling data indicating that our culture’s skepticism toward political leaders has grown once again. You can check out the interview below. ...

Kishore Jayablan, director of Istituto Acton in Rome, joined host Monsignor Kieran Harrington on WOR Radio in New York on Sunday morning to discuss his personal history with Pope John Paul II and to give his thoughts on Pope Francis, with particular focus on Francis’ desire to see the Catholic Church e more directly focused on the needs of the poor. You can listen to the interview via the audio player below. ...