Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Politics

October 05, 2017

What a Chinese economist learned from American churches

“Only through awe can we be saved. Only through faith can the market economy have a soul.” -Zhao Xiao When French diplomat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in the 1830s, he marveled at the “associational life” of American communities, noting the particular influence of religion and local churches. Continue Reading...
September 29, 2017

The cultural connection between economics and belief

Is there a connection between economics and belief? In a recent Karam Forum lecture for the Oikonomia Network, theologian Jay Moon uses a Perplexus ball to explain the overlapping influence and impact of distinct cultural spheres — what anthropologists call the “functional integration of culture.” Continue Reading...
September 26, 2017

Samuel Gregg on Germany’s populist surge

Following the election results in Germany this past Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been re-elected to serve for a fourth term. In his article “Germany Revolts“, Samuel Gregg describes Chancellor Merkel’s party as being “woefully out of touch” with the German people, and as a result many are abandoning the CDU/CSU coalition for the AFD. Continue Reading...
August 24, 2017

When online conformity mobs imitate government coercion

The social-media outrage machine is rather predictable these days. It doesn’t take much for companies and celebrities to offend the cultural consensus, spurring online mobs to respond, in turn: not through peaceful discourse or by turning their attention elsewhere, but by fomenting rage, abuse, and assault on the subject(s) in question. Continue Reading...