Religion & Liberty Online Archives

News and Events

September 25, 2012

Where Does Your Mutual Fund Go to Church?

Are you a risk-adverse investor? Then you may want to avoid choosing a mutual fund that’s headquartered in an area with lots of Catholics. New research from the University of Georgia and Southern Methodist University and published in Management Science shows that the dominant local religion—whether Protestant or Catholic—significantly affects mutual fund behaviors. Continue Reading...
September 24, 2012

More on Constitutions and Culture

As noted already at the PowerBlog today, Sam Gregg has a fine piece on the complex relationship between law and morality, or constitutions and culture, over at Public Discourse. As a follow-up (read the piece first), I’d like to point to an interesting aspect of James Buchanan’s advocacy of a balanced-budget amendment. Continue Reading...
September 21, 2012

October 15 Scholarship Deadline

The deadline to apply for a scholarship through the Calihan Academic Fellowship program is one month away! If you or anyone you know are looking for financial aid opportunities for next semester, I invite you to visit the Calihan Academic Fellowship page on Acton’s website for details about this competitive scholarship program. Continue Reading...
September 21, 2012

ResearchLinks – 09.21.12

Book Note: “As If God Existed” Maurizio Viroli. As if God Existed: Religion and Liberty in the History of Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Religion and liberty are often thought to be mutual enemies: if religion has a natural ally, it is authoritarianism–not republicanism or democracy. Continue Reading...
September 20, 2012

Hobby Lobby’s Billionaire CEO Says ‘God Owns It’

Forbes recently ran a profile of Christian billionaire and Hobby Lobby CEO David Green. According to Forbes, Green is “the largest evangelical benefactor in the world,” giving “at upwards of $500 million” over the course of his life, primarily to Christian ministries. Continue Reading...
September 19, 2012

Samuel Gregg: Mitt de Tocqueville

Writing in National Review Online, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg weighs in on Mitt Romney’s remarks about the “47 percent”: Ever since the modern welfare state was founded (by none other than that great “champion” of freedom Otto von Bismarck as he sought, unsuccessfully, to persuade industrial workers to stop voting for the German Social Democrats), Western politicians have discovered that welfare programs and subsidies more generally are a marvelous way of creating constituencies of people who are likely to keep voting for you as long as you keep delivering the goods. Continue Reading...
September 14, 2012

ResearchLinks – 09.14.12

Working Paper: “Top Ten Myths of Medicare” Richard L. Kaplan (University of Illinois College of Law), Illinois Program in Law, Behavior and Social Science Paper No. LBSS13-02; Illinois Public Law Research Paper No. Continue Reading...
September 13, 2012

Retailer Hobby Lobby Sues Over HHS Mandate

Yesterday, privately-owned Hobby Lobby, a popular craft store chain, filed suit opposing the HHS mandate which forces employers to provide “preventive care” measures such as birth-control and “morning after” pills. “By being required to make a choice between sacrificing our faith or paying millions of dollars in fines, we essentially must choose which poison pill to swallow,” said David Green, Hobby Lobby CEO and founder. Continue Reading...