Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Effective Compassion

How Eschatology Affects Effective Altruism

You may have noticed over the past couple of years that effective altruism has become the hot new trend/buzzword in philanthropy. As the Centre for Effective Altruism explains, Effective Altruism is a growing social movement that combines both the heart and the head: compassion guided by data and reason. Continue Reading...

Fresh Food And Fresh Starts

In today’s American, nearly a quarter million women are incarcerated, primarily for drug-related or non-violent crimes. That’s roughly an 800 percent increase in the past 30 years. And female felons don’t have any easier a time finding work than their male counterparts. Continue Reading...

The Red Cross’ Haitian Boondoggle

Disaster relief and aid to developing nations is big business. Really big. While the documentary “Poverty, Inc.” examines whether this business helps or hurts, it’s very clear from this NPR/ProPublica story that the Red Cross did not help Haiti. Continue Reading...

Sirico: Care for The Poor is in Christianity’s DNA

President Obama remarked that he would like faith organizations and churches to speak to poverty solutions “in a more forceful fashion” at a Georgetown University summit in mid-May. The meeting included faith leaders from Catholic and evangelical denominations, and included political thinkers Robert Putnam of Harvard, and the American Enterprise Institute’s Arthur Brooks. Continue Reading...

Are Churches Failing The Poor?

For those in poverty, or those simply facing tough times, churches are often places they turn to for help. It may be organized aid: soup kitchens and food pantries. It may be a gas card given to a single mom who is struggling to get from one pay day to another. Continue Reading...