Democrat Joe Biden has built his half-century in politics largely on the myth that he is a faithful Catholic with working class roots. In reality Biden is neither a faithful Catholic, nor a friend of America’s blue-collar citizens.
Read MoreTag: religion
Where Does Joe Biden Actually Stand with the Catholic Church?
CNN and reporters called 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden a “devout Catholic” Thursday after President Donald Trump said the former vice president would “hurt the Bible, hurt God.”
Biden has frequently referenced his Catholic faith throughout his political career, describing his faith as “the bedrock foundation” of his life. The former vice president also supports policies that are explicitly opposed to Catholic teaching, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Read MoreCommentary: Secular Education Is Contributing to America’s Decline in Religion
In his observations about 19th-century America, Alexis de Tocqueville pointed to religion as the first of the country’s political institutions—sweeping in its influence on our customs and powerful in its propensity to preempt and prevent tyranny.
Yet today, American religiosity is in decline. Weekly church attendance is trending downward, as is self-identification with a formal religion, denomination or belief system. The rise of the “nones” is increasing in speed and expanding in influence, replacing religious-cultural paradigms of old with a modern menu of personalized, à la carte “spiritualities.” Even where religiosity remains, it is often resistant or opposed to public expression, never mind institutional or cultural prominence.
Read MoreTrump Threatens to Override Governors If They Do Not Open Churches
President Donald Trump called on governors Friday to open houses of worship “right now,” warning he will override governors’ orders if they do not allow Americans to attend religious services.
Trump spoke Friday at the White House where he said governors should allow churches and places of worship to open, saying that if governors have any questions on this, “they’re going to have to call me, but they’re not going to be successful in that call.”
Read MoreCommentary: Political Ideology Is Pushing Religion Out of Religious Studies
Many academic disciplines have gotten “woke” in recent years, especially in the humanities and social sciences. For the most part, this transformation has occurred in plain view as colleges created departments for (and offered degrees in) “Women’s and Gender Studies,” “Black Studies,” “LGBTQ Studies,” “Latino Studies,” and the rest of the intersectionality parade.
Read MoreCommentary: How Socialism Causes Atheism
George Orwell’s 1984 defines the booming genre of dystopian literature, but Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World provided a more accurate prophecy of the future. In another of his works, Ends and Means, Huxley offered deep insights into why people choose to become atheists. In a time when 26 percent of Americans are unaffiliated with any religion, and the number of atheists and agnostics in the U.S. has doubled in the last 10 years, people of faith must pay heed to his observations. Huxley wrote that he and “most of [his] contemporaries” saw atheism’s moral vacuum as their “instrument of liberation,” because it allowed them to embrace sexual hedonism and socialism:
Read MoreMillennials Leaving Religion En Masse, New Studies Show
Millennials are abandoning religion in numbers not seen in any other generation in modern history, according to a long-form piece on the subject by FiveThirtyEight.
Read MoreChristianity Declines in US as More Adults Identify as ‘Nothing in Particular,’ Surveys Show
Christianity continues to decline among U.S. adults as the number of adults identifying as “nothing in particular” increases, Pew Research Center found.
Read MoreReport: 44 Percent of Twin Cities Residents Considered ‘Post-Christian’
A new study released this month found that the Northeast region of America is the most “post-Christian” area of the country. The study, conducted by Barna research, is part of an ongoing survey of Americans based on a random sample of 21,378 adults conducted over a ten-year period. To…
Read MoreCommentary: Embarrassing Gaffes Continue to Show Media’s Ignorance of Religion
by Jarret Stepman It’s become increasingly clear that many in our nation’s elite media know little to nothing about religion—Christianity in particular. This is a disturbing trend for the future of our country. A long list of theological gaffes by The New York Times over the years was recently…
Read MoreHalf of Americans Back Stronger Role of Religion in Society
Around half of Americans favor religion playing a greater role in U.S. society, while 18 percent oppose that idea, according to a Pew Research Center study published Monday. Despite there being a separation of church and state, religion plays a significant part in daily U.S. life: the president traditionally is…
Read MoreCommentary: Former Atheist Explains How Rationality, Not Emotion, Encourages Religious Belief
by Annie Holmquist I recently ran across an interview with author Stephen Asma in The Irish Times. Although an atheist, Asma is a rather unique atheist because he believes religion is necessary, a fact evidenced in his recent book Why We Need Religion. According to Asma, a philosophy professor,…
Read MoreThe Humble Origins of Silent Night
by Sarah Eyerly One of the world’s most famous Christmas carols, “Silent Night,” celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. Over the centuries, hundreds of Christmas carols have been composed. Many fall quickly into obscurity. Not “Silent Night.” Translated into at least 300 languages, designated by UNESCO as a treasured…
Read MoreCommentary: The Breakdown of Family and Religion Explains France’s Social Unrest
by Star Parker As France is gripped by civil disorder, many commentators identify, quite correctly, as the culprit the outsized burden that France’s bloated welfare state places on its citizens. According a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the highest tax burden in the industrialized…
Read MoreChinese Pastor Could Reportedly Face 15 Years in Prison for ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power’
by Joshua Gill Chinese authorities reportedly charged an evangelical pastor and his wife with “inciting subversion of state power” Wednesday, for which they face potentially 15 years in prison. Chinese police in the town of Chengdu arrested Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church, his wife Jiang Rong and…
Read MoreCommentary: Enlightenment Thinkers Understood the Need for Religion
by Jeff Minick In January I resolved to read Will and Ariel Durant’s magnum opus The Story Of Civilization before the end of the year. It is now early November, and I have finished Volume X of this series, Rousseau and Revolution, meaning I should fulfill my self-imposed obligation…
Read MoreSCIENCE: Religious People Live Longer
by Joshua Gill Religious affiliation actually prolong one’s life through positive social effects according to a recent study of obituaries in Iowa and across the nation. Laura E. Wallace of Ohio State University, one of the study’s authors, found that among the social factors that affect one’s physical health and…
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