Joseph Knippenberg

In his column today, Michael Gerson discusses the relationship between Catholic Republicans, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Tea Party.  I think he provides a decent summary of Catholic social teaching.  He also makes the following observation: Catholic social teaching is simply not . . . . Continue Reading »

I wasn’t going to say anything about these basically platitudinous remarks , though I concede that I probably couldn’t do all that much better if I were President of the United States and felt compelled to testify to my faith without stepping on any political landmines. But the annoying . . . . Continue Reading »

This Washington Post article suggests that there might be a division between fiscal and social conservatives in Iowa and elsewhere.  (It’s February 3rd, 2011; do you know where your next President is?)  Considering coinages like “Teavangelical,” not to mention the . . . . Continue Reading »

Speaking for sensitive secularists everywhere, David Harsanyi asks : “How many Americans instinctively turn to the pro-choice camp because pro-life proponents aggravate their secular sensibilities?” Since he doesn’t “hang with” Catholics, Baptists, and Lutherans . . . . Continue Reading »

Just a quick post to commend to your attention an absolutely marvelous new site organized by our friends at the Witherspoon Institute .  The site— Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism —is a veritable trove of primary sources, original and authoritative . . . . Continue Reading »

This article suggests that denominational representation at denominationally-affiliated colleges and universities is declining. An (not the) explanation? The perceived high cost of a Christian education alongside drops in denominational loyalty have contributed to the changing demographics . . . . . . . . Continue Reading »

I did not see it delivered, but, having read the transcript, it seems to me that President Obama’s speech at the memorial for the victims of the Tucson shooting is one of the best he has delivered. He celebrates the ordinary and homely virtues of those who died and those who were . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve been snowbound since Sunday evening, stuck at home with kids who resent the fact that there are no snow days in homeschool, a wife who wonders why I don’t have a job in south Florida (but only on cold winter days), and two animals (a neurotic dog who keeps asking to go out and then . . . . Continue Reading »

These days, it is uncharacteristically hard to avoid hearing or reading people opine about the Constitution. As someone who spends almost the first half of every introductory American government class discussing that document, I agree with Charles Krauthammer in welcoming this development, however . . . . Continue Reading »

This report provides an interesting picture of the religious landscape of the new Congress, and even compares it with its predecessors.  The authors note that Protestants are overrepresented in Congress, by comparison with their share of the population as a whole, and that the religiously . . . . Continue Reading »