Recent Religion Commentaries

Featured image for “What Makes America Great”
What Makes America Great
For the past sixteen months there has been a lot of talk that America has lost its way; that we are weak; that we have somehow, lost our greatness. If that is true, then why do so many want to come to this country, attend schools, build businesses, become citizens, grow and prosper? Nineteenth century French diplomat and historian Alexis...
Read More
November 7, 2016
Featured image for “Gettysburg Distress”
Gettysburg Distress
The weather was a breezy sixty-five degrees that day. Amidst a raging war, the featured speaker took his place near the front of a crowd of hundreds who had gathered to hear the solemn words. Looking at his carefully prepared notes, a hushed silence came over the crowd. “President Lincoln,” he began, “served in a time of division like we’ve...
Read More
October 24, 2016
Featured image for “The Ethical Take: The Long, Hot, <em>Hate-filled</em> Summer”
The Ethical Take: The Long, Hot, Hate-filled Summer
No, this is NOT a joke – Rick Tyler, an independent candidate running for Congress from Tennessee, received a much deserved flood of criticism after putting up a campaign billboard along Highway 411 in Polk County which reads, “Make America White Again.” According to WTVC-TV, Tyler explained his reasons this way: “ ‘The Make America White Again billboard advertisement will...
Read More
July 1, 2016
Featured image for “What is Religious Freedom?”
What is Religious Freedom?
In another move that can only be described by many as bizarre, North Carolina’s governor decided to sue the federal government over a recent state law limiting bathroom access for transgender people. North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory stated that he would sue the Department of Justice in response to a letter he received from Attorney General Loretta Lynch that...
Read More
May 18, 2016
Featured image for “Whose Religious Freedom is Threatened?”
Whose Religious Freedom is Threatened?
Ever since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage last June, several states have proposed legislation that would “protect” religious freedom. Legislators claim that opponents of same-sex marriage who own a business need a law that protects their right – based on their religious beliefs – to refuse service to gay couples. On Wednesday, the Missouri State Senate...
Read More
March 11, 2016
Featured image for “Notables and Quotables of 2015”
Notables and Quotables of 2015
If a year can be summarized with one word it might be entitlement: entitled to ignore the facts; entitled to change the law in order to suit your own religious beliefs; entitled to own assault weapon(s) and high-capacity magazines; entitled to ban all individuals of a particular religion from entry into the U.S. Let’s dispense with the easy ones first....
Read More
December 28, 2015
Featured image for “The Message of 2015”
The Message of 2015
To whom do you turn in the midst of crisis? Who has the requisite wisdom to lessen your doubts, your fears and anxieties? Of all the speeches given in 2015, none comes close to that of Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. During the five days that Francis visited the United States, he was welcomed with warmth...
Read More
December 24, 2015
Featured image for “The Audacity of Humility”
The Audacity of Humility
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  – St. Augustine Before his elevation to the head of the Catholic Church, Jorge Bergoglio began as a Jesuit priest from Argentina. Since his investiture as Pope in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis — in honor of Francis of...
Read More
September 25, 2015
Featured image for “God’s Authority”
God’s Authority
When a gay couple asked Rowan Country Clerk Kim Davis on who’s authority she was acting when she declined to issue the couple a marriage certificate, she responded “under God’s Authority.” As a consequence, Federal Judge David L. Bunning jailed Davis after refusing to follow the orders of the court and her duty as an elected county official. According to...
Read More
September 16, 2015
Featured image for “Why Pamela Geller is Wrong”
Why Pamela Geller is Wrong
Religion is always a touchy subject. So is politics, but that hasn’t stopped Pamela Geller, who specializes in provoking religious groups, to continue to inflame under the guise of free speech. Welcome to the new American zeitgeist where the Second Amendment is now used as an umbrella ideology to justify all manner of rationalizations. Geller has been waging a one-woman...
Read More
June 5, 2015

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
If It Looks Like a Duck…
Donald Trump has never hidden his disdain for anyone or any institution he believes stands in his way. Near the top of that list is...
A Tale of Two Voices
Two voices, both alike in reach and power, Speak into a divided world. One feeds grievance. The other calls for grace. Influence still carries power....
How Do We Manage Division?
Recently, I found myself returning to a question I’ve asked in different forms for years: what does it actually take to hold a country together...
The Supreme Court is Broken. How Do We Fix It?
As distilled from an email update from Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down...
Leadership as a Moral Act
Britain’s King Charles III spoke to a chamber that, for a moment, set aside party labels—Democrat and Republican—and listened not as factions, but as participants...
Unity is Not a Declaration. It’s a Discipline.
How does a country move from argument to action? The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is not an isolated event. It is part...