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Peter Singer on Religious Freedom

From First Thoughts

What was it that Cicero said? There is nothing so absurd that Peter Singer hasn’t said it? Something like that. The Princeton philosophy professor’s latest effusion offers an extraordinarily limited conception of religious freedom. Taking up controversies in the Netherlands over . . . . Continue Reading »

Golden Rule Christianity

From First Thoughts

Increasingly, the name of the game is, according to David Gibson , “Golden Rule” Christianity: love your neighbor as yourself. This is what President Obama cited in explaining his support for same-sex marriage . Of course, the gloss both Gibson and Obama give on this injunction is . . . . Continue Reading »

Vanderbilt and Limited Government

From First Thoughts

By now, almost everyone has heard or read that Vanderbilt University adopted an “all comers” policy for its student groups that has the effect of forcing some religious groups to choose between the benefits that attend recognition (access to university facilities and funding) and . . . . Continue Reading »

Matriculate, Educate, Graduate

From First Thoughts

You don’t have to look too hard to find someone writing about the future of American higher education.  Everyone recognizes that “change” is in the air, but many don’t have much “hope.” For another site, I wrote about a couple of proposals, which (taken . . . . Continue Reading »

The People’s Rights Amendment

From First Thoughts

A few days ago, our friends at National Review Online editorialized against the so-called “People’s Rights Amendment,” which is an attempt to overturn the Supreme Court’s holding in the Citizens United case, a holding that is anathema to the President and many of his . . . . Continue Reading »

Evangelicals and Romney

From First Thoughts

Much ink has been spilled (if that’s still an intelligible expression in this digital age) about the likely evangelical resistance to voting for Mitt Romney.  But, to my mind, the recent Pew poll paints a different picture.  Here’s what we learn: Protestants favor Romney . . . . Continue Reading »

Students and Parents as Consumers

From First Thoughts

This morning, my wife was recounting a conversation she’d had with another parent at a local homeschooling co-op where she teaches and our children take classes.  Her friend—speaking parent to parent, not parent to teacher—stated quite emphatically that we parents are . . . . Continue Reading »