Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.
Posts by Rev. Ben Johnson
June 09, 2020
The cost of the nine days of rioting following George Floyd’s death has already exceeded $100 million. Yet some economists believe that damage actually benefits our country.
In the epicenter of the riots, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has appealed to the federal and state governments to foot the bill for the destruction, which stands at a preliminary estimate of $55 million.
Continue Reading...
June 05, 2020
As U.S. cities seek to rebuild from chaos, Hong Kong continues to resist the imposition of order—a draconian order emanating from Beijing that will crush freedom of thought and expression. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has intervened with an historic proposal: He would allow nearly half the citizens of Hong Kong to immigrate to the UK.
Continue Reading...
June 03, 2020
The nation has reached a baffling moment in our history: looting and torching minority-owned businesses for racial equality. The weeklong pandemic of mob violence following the death of George Floyd has destroyed minority business owners’ dreams, denied young minorities jobs, and left neighborhoods depleted, depressed, and alone.
Continue Reading...
May 29, 2020
China’s worsening human rights abuses instigated an historic change in U.S. foreign policy. Unfortunately, they have drawn a sharper rebuke from secular politicians than from many in the church.
On May 27, U.S.
Continue Reading...
May 27, 2020
During the coronavirus pandemic, the media crowned a new set of heroes: healthcare workers, essential employees, and first responders. But politicians who classify church attendance as non-essential ignore the fact that churches “are the first of the first responders,” says Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
Continue Reading...
May 22, 2020
One must praise conservative material that airs on PBS for the same reason one must take note of shooting stars: for the comparative rarity and brevity of the experience. Yet high praise is due to the taxpayer-funded network for airing the magisterial documentary
Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words on May 18.
Continue Reading...
May 20, 2020
From the Enlightenment to the works of Jean-Paul Sartre and Jacques Derrida, the power of French ideas has radically altered the rest of the world. The Acton Institute has engaged France’s long history as a global thought leader in two new French-language articles, which discuss contemporary French influence on U.S.
Continue Reading...
May 19, 2020
First Things magazine has transformed radically from the days when Rev. Richard John Neuhaus established it as the foremost magazine of Christian engagement with the public square. Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
Continue Reading...
May 18, 2020
The 1619 Project’s introductory essay, written by Nikole Hannah-Jones, won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary—and, notably, not for history or public service. That distinction is illuminating. The 1619 Project makes unfounded assertions about the role of slavery in American political and economic history, and it inverts reality to portray slave owners as the embodiment of free-market principles.
Continue Reading...
May 13, 2020
Perhaps nowhere is the disconnect between private citizens’ views and those of the government clearer than when it comes to the role of religion in society. Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev.
Continue Reading...
