Richard John Neuhaus

Robert Kaplan has a fine essay over on the American Interest on the growing gap between the military and the civilian society. The military is increasingly a “warrior class” set apart. Kaplan is by no means the first to worry about this, but the intelligence of his worrying is refreshing. . . . . Continue Reading »

On Opinion Journal earlier this week, John Fund opines on the Mormon factor in Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. He notes that a survey of 1,269 faculty members by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research just found that 38 percent of social sciences and humanities professors, a . . . . Continue Reading »

Pope Benedict’s letter this past week to the Catholics of China is a development of potentially historic importance. In reading the letter and talking with people who know the situation in China, the most striking thing is Benedict’s insistence that there is one Catholic Church in . . . . Continue Reading »

It was a powerful speech powerfully delivered. I don’t do political endorsements but am on record as saying that I think Mitt Romney is in many ways well qualified to be president. There is nothing in the speech that prompts a change of mind on that.Note the title “Faith in . . . . Continue Reading »

In his classic work Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres , Henry Adams asserts, only half whimsically, that the twelfth-century Cathedral of Chartres was, in all its details, built at the direction of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for it is her house above all others. To be sure, the sculpture and the glass . . . . Continue Reading »

On Rereading the Civil WarAs long-term readers know, every August at the cottage in Quebec I give myself the assignment of reading or rereading some major chunk of our civilization’s ­tradition. Last year it was Augustine’s City of God. Among other subjects in earlier years were . . . . Continue Reading »

Last Saturday, the British magazine The Economist , sponsored a debate on this resolution: "Religion and politics should always be kept separate." There was an audience of about a thousand, and at the beginning of the debate the vote was about five to one in favor of the resolution. This . . . . Continue Reading »

This week, the school-voucher referendum went down to a crushing defeat in Utah. It was a very ambitious proposal, covering absolutely everyone. Some supporters thought it too ambitious. In any event, the state and national teachers unions, plus other public-employee unions, predictably poured tons . . . . Continue Reading »

Is “human dignity” a useful concept in bioethics? Does it shed important light on the whole range of bioethical issues? Or is it instead a useless concept—a slogan that camouflages unconvincing arguments and unarticulated biases? The President’s Council on Bioethics recently asked me this . . . . Continue Reading »

As Long As They Spell Our Names RightWe are incessantly told that we live in a celebrity culture, and it is in large part true. If a celebrity is defined as someone who is well known for being well known, then publicity is the lifeblood of a celebrity culture. Any publicity is good publicity. As it . . . . Continue Reading »