Rev. Ben Johnson

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

August 21, 2018

The Prague Spring: An Eastern European perspective

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia began in earnest 50 years ago today, with the intention to destroy the blooming “Prague Spring.” But today, the truths that invasion revealed have been lost, both in the West and among many young people in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2018

Would Jesus take an Uber?

New York City has enacted the first-ever government cap on the number of vehicles licensed to ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bill imposing a one-year moratorium on new licenses, establishing a minimum wage for drivers – and touching off an international debate among Christians and others about the morality of Uber. Continue Reading...
August 10, 2018

Chafuen on ‘The vocation of the think tank’

Alejandro Chafuen – the Acton Institute’s Managing Director, International – received the prestigious 2018 “Premio Juan de Mariana” award from the Intituto Juan de Mariana earlier this year. Today at Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, we have posted the full text of his acceptance speech. Continue Reading...
August 07, 2018

Socialism dehumanizes the poor…and socialists: Socialist leader

Socialism claims that its collectivist economic plans “put people first.” But even the philosophy behind socialism dehumanizes everyone involved – according to one of the foremost socialist leaders. Marxism is rooted in the concept of dialectical materialism, the pseudo-scientific assertion that the endless churning of class conflict between the rich (bourgeoisie) and the poor (proletariat) eventually produces a worker’s paradise. Continue Reading...
August 03, 2018

Welfare states cultivate the sin of sloth

Alfred Tennyson wrote, “In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” But each summer “in Mediterranean countries, the youth seem to be haunted by the same pressing question: ‘Will i get a proper job?'”  Continue Reading...
July 27, 2018

Foreign aid fraud concerns ‘valid,’ says UK chief

The man who oversees the UK’s foreign aid budget says that public concerns about fraud, abuse, and futility associated with international development programs are “valid.” And he plans to fight those perceptions by launching an evangelistic campaign on behalf of the government. Continue Reading...