Religion Dispatches
…e explicit in their concern for structural justice and the failings of the free market system. Famously, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium denounces those who “continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world” as expressing a “crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding eco…
Read More…f freedom. Labor unions, in this view, could only be biblical if they were free associations and if any other laborer was free to undercut the wages they negotiate by agreeing to work for less. Specifically, in terms of developments in Wisconsin, fifty years of spreading “biblical economics” has created a religiously sanctioned battle against labor unions: Labor unions are gangs of legalized thugs. They do not believe in allowing employers and emp…
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…t that aims to “sabotage Christian supremacy.” “By framing their case as a betrayal of the Free Exercise Clause, [Trinity Lutheran] argues that not getting to put their hands in the money pot is a transgression against their absolute entitlement, and that limiting their access to all resources is an attack on their ability to freely exercise their religion,” Herrin continued. That tactic isn’t novel, of course, but a Supreme Court ruling that affi…
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…eing strictly nonviolent, creating justice, making a better world for all, promoting freedom, and advancing personal spiritual growth were all merely different ways to describe the very same process. Could it really be true? so many people wonder—and worry. Because if it is true, it should be the path everyone would want to follow. Yet so few of us do. If it were true, we would have to ask ourselves why we don’t follow it. We would have to put our…
Read More…the media. Rather than to please advertisers, I take it that the role of a free press, on religious issues as well as secular ones, is to raise issues of common concern, examine them, and help readers and viewers form their own opinions. If the issues are obscured, no such process can play out. A little practice with Catholicism would go a long way toward improving press coverage of smaller, less well known groups. Second, if the American press ca…
Read More…e commercials and stay up until the last segment of the news. Sex sells. A free society needs a free press, of that the Founders were certain. Investigative reporting is the true fifth column, a crucial further “check and balance” on the relentless consolidation of power in the electronic age. But with increasingly scarce resources, isn’t it important that investigative reporters are working to save lives, both at home and abroad, rather than titi…
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…s. 3. The right to a clean life Means the right of Mother Earth to a life free from pollution, because not only we humans have the right to live well, but also rivers, fish, animals, trees, and the Earth itself have the right to live in a healthy environment, free from poison and pollution. 4. The right to harmony and balance with everyone and among everyone Mother Earth has a right to be recognized as a part of a system in which all living crea…
Read More…ersal is under way. He said he would hesitate to say which country is more free, Russia or the U.S. Komov denied that there is any connection between passage of anti-gay legislation and anti-gay violence. WCF officials, by the way, are delighted to have been featured in a recent story in The Nation detailing how U.S. evangelicals have worked with the Orthodox Church to fuel the “pro-family” movement in Russia. But as the games get under way, many…
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…. This fear has generated a tornado of employer opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. For those who work for ethical employers or have never experienced this damaging practice wielded against workers, it is hard to understand all the dust thrown up by the tornado. Employer groups led by the Chamber of Commerce are in a tizzy, claiming the sky will fall if the bill is passed. Labor groups are united in their support for EFCA, believing it is…
Read More…ampion open government and civil society and fight corruption. We bolster freedom of assembly and a free press…. At times, we are compelled to make tough choices when the immediate need to defend our national security requires us to work with governments that do not share our fundamental commitment to human rights. No one knows that better than all of you. We look to you to strike the extremely difficult balance that both preserves critical bil…
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