Michael Matheson Miller is the chief of strategic initiatives, senior research fellow, and director of the Center for Social Flourishing at the Acton Institute.
Posts by Michael Matheson Miller
July 08, 2026
“A republic, if you can keep it” was Ben Franklin’s famous answer when asked what kind of government the framers created at the Constitutional Convention. The founders were men of ideas, but they also took history, democratic practice, politics, and the reality of the human person seriously.
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April 21, 2025
On behalf of our colleagues, families, and friends at the Acton Institute in the United States and Rome, we express our heartfelt sorrow and the pledge of our prayers for the eternal repose of the soul of Pope Francis, the 266th Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, who passed away today at the age of 88 during the 13th year of his papacy, which began March 13, 2013.
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April 13, 2023
Welcome to our company—we are a family and we’re glad you’re part of it!
You are not just a student here, you’re a member of the family.
We’re not just a business. Continue Reading...
March 02, 2023
The question of justice is fundamental to human nature and all human cultures. Little children have an immediate sense of fair and unfair, just and unjust. The theme of justice permeates myth and philosophy.
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November 16, 2021
On Twitter and in essays at
The American Conservative, Sohrab Ahmari has argued that the debates about liberalism, post-liberalism, and integralism are “exhausted,” and that what he calls “political Catholics” are taking “these battles in other, more concrete dimensions.”
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October 16, 2021
A healthy state protects life, secures liberty, and defends property. A totalitarian state does the opposite: it arbitrarily kills, compels, and seizes property.
J. D. Vance recently appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to discuss a verbal altercation between Arizona State University students, one of whom was the recipient of a Ford Foundation fellowship.
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August 21, 2020
This is part two of our series, “The Political Theology of Global Secularism.” You may read part one here. Check back frequently for forthcoming installments. – Ed.
David Foster Wallace wrote of our secular age:
[I]n the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism.
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July 24, 2020
This is part one of our series, “The Political Theology of Global Secularism.” Check back frequently for forthcoming installments. – Ed.
Globalization is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that has many aspects: economic, military, political, and cultural.
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July 03, 2020
This week, June 29, was the solemn feast of Saints Peter and Paul. The Apostle Peter is remembered for many things: his declaration of Jesus as the Messiah; his boasting of fidelity, followed by his threefold denial of Christ; and his subsequent repentance and heroic martyrdom
The late French anthropologist and former Stanford professor Rene Girard has an insightful discussion about the denial of Peter and the problem of scapegoating and contagion.
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April 15, 2020
As the coronavirus spreads, federal, state, and local governments are wrestling with how to handle the crisis. So are civil associations, churches, businesses, and families. The role of civil society is often neglected, but it could be the most important.
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