Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Why the Market Needs the Family
Why the Market Needs the Family
Feb 1, 2026 11:39 AM

The Family & the Market, an Acton University lecture by Jennifer Roback Morse, uses Christian theology and logic to illustrate unique connections between seemingly unrelated aspects of society, at least to the secular world. Morse is the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, where she discovered that the economy depends on the intact family raising children. This Institute has a dream: that every child is ed into a loving home with a married mother and father. Their goal is to create a lasting and Christ-like social movement, and to clean up the consequences of the Sexual Revolution.

Students in this course learn the importance of both parents raising their own children together, as opposed to divorcing, sharing custody, or placing children in foster care. This is vital in order to “respect, honor, and preserve” the genetic identity and cultural heritage of every adult, without exception. Morse emphasizes that when this practice is violated, it gives way to structural injustice and the political correctness of “Alternative Family Forms.” These terms, such as multi-partner fertility, are indicators of our broken reality, and of life problems for children in these environments, mainly, stirring up feelings of resentment in an unloved child.

Morse goes on to further define the Sexual Revolution, or the secular belief that a good and decent society should: separate sex from babies, separate both sex and babies from marriage, and eliminate all differences from men and women except those explicitly chosen by the individual. We can now create babies without sex, and our society propagates hook-up, divorce, and affair culture. Morse believes the agenda of the Sexual Revolution has, all along, been largely based upon the third point, to “re-construct” identities that were merely “social constructs” in the first place. If gender distinctions are eliminated, then any form of parenting, no matter how broken, can function according to this model.

However, we know this to be impossible, false, and untrue. It is irrational, irresponsible, and ultimately would require force and propaganda to stand on its own. Children really do require both a mother and father. Morse drew attention to a popular argument in the divorce culture: “Children are resilient and tougher than we give them credit for.” She responded in kind with a ment exposing the selfish nature of such a claim: “Parents are precious little snowflakes that will fade and die if they don’t get what they want, and children are supposed to be resilient? No.”

With so many children feeling unwanted and unloved, and with donor conceived people feeling like purchased objects and property, we need to focus on all issues the Sexual Revolution passes. When others do not hear our arguments, Christians need to practice healing friendship, be shining examples to those who are struggling, and above all, show deep and passion. Morse left her audience with forting message of hope: “Heal yourself, heal others, and heal the culture, because the Church will last, justice will last, and friendship and love will last.”

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Poland Attempts To Reduce National Debt By Dipping Into Pension Funds
Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, announced Wednesday that the government would attempt to cut government debt by taking money from its citizens’ private pension funds. Poland currently has a two-fold pension system: mandatory contributions are made to the state pension fund and then to private funds. It is the state funds, known as ZUS, that the Polish government plans to “transfer” money from. According to Reuters: …Prime Minister Donald Tusk said private funds within the state-guaranteed system would have their...
Support for Obamacare Dwindling
Obamacare, the popular name for the Affordable Health Care Act, continues to find opposition from both individuals and states. The act is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2013 for most of the country, but a USA Today/Pew Research poll finds that 53 percent of Americans polled oppose Obamacare. The numbers are even lower when one accounts for political parties. Overall, just 13% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approve of the law while 85% disapprove. Fewer than half of...
Friday Night Videos 9.13.13
Giving (Via: Neatorama) What Surfing Can Teach You about Ownership (Via: Values & Capitalism) John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel (Via: Justin Taylor) ...
Audio: Samuel Gregg Discusses Tea Party Catholic
Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, has begun making the radio rounds in support of his soon-to-be-released book Tea Party Catholic: The Catholic Case for Limited Government, a Free Economy, and Human Flourishing, talking extensively about the intersection between support for limited government and Catholic thought. Here’s a roundup of recent interviews. First of all, here’s Sam discussing the book with Glen Biegel on 700 KBYR in Anchorage, Alaska last Thursday: Also on Thursday, Sam talked with Chuck Wilder of...
Pope Francis’ Cardinal-shaming Mini-popemobile
A couple of months ago I teased Pope Francis engaging in a “war on the Vatican’s luxury cars” while driving one of the greatest luxury cars of all time — the Popemobile. Although he probably won’t be able to give up his 160 mph, armor-plated, bullet-proof sedia gestatoria anytime soon, he’s make a bold, symbolic point with the latest addition to his fleet: a 1984 Renault 4. Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, says Francis accepted the 1984 Renault 4,...
Animal Sacrifice Powered Ancient Jerusalem’s Economy
Everyone knows the story about Jesus entering the Temple in Jerusalem and overturning the tables of the moneychangers. But what most people forget is that he also overturned the “benches of those selling doves.” While there was likely a lucrative business in changing foreign currency into Hebrew money (the only form of acceptable payment for the Temple tax), the selling of animals for sacrifice was probably the true Big Business in the city. A study published in the September issue...
Sex-Selective Abortions Linked To Abuse Of Females
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs mittee held a hearing last week on India’s missing girls. In today’s Washington Times, Chris Smith, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey and chair of the hearing, discusses the connection between sex-selective abortions and India’s massive problem with physical and sexual abuse of females. The roots of the present problem lie not only with cultural factors, such as the demand for dowries paid by the bride’s family, but also misbegotten...
Quebec’s Religious Symbol Ban and the Myth of Religious Neutrality
Last week the ruling party of the province of Quebec, Parti Québécois, unveiled a new charter which would prohibit public employees from wearing overt religious garb. The document states: We propose to prohibit the wearing of overt and conspicuous religious symbols by state personnel in carrying out their duties. This restriction would reflect the state’s neutrality. Included in their examples of “conspicuous signs would not be allowed to state personnel” is the dastar, the turban worn by Sikh men. The...
HBCU Funding: A Tale of Executive Orders
One of the things I never learned in my U.S. government courses in high school was just how quickly government agencies and programs grow without undergoing Congressional vetting. For example, I recently discovered that there exists a federally-funded White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). When did that happen? How did that happen? In fact, a few days ago, the White House announced changes in the leadership of this initiative. President Obama names two dynamic new leaders...
Piper: ‘Work Is a Glorious Thing’
At Desiring God, John Piper explains how both the act and product of work are blessings, and that the God-designed essence of work is creativity — “not aimless, random doing, but creative, productive doing.” In addition to avoiding the hump of idleness, this means being ever diligent, discerning, obedient, and energetic in the work of our hands: When the book of Proverbs tells us to go to the ant and learn how to work hard and work smart (Proverbs 6:6–11),...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved