The Editors

• Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is said to have a way with words. Yes, and his ways are many and wondrous and were on display during a recent ELCA church council meeting, at which he spoke about faithfulness and leadership: “You can bet your . . . . Continue Reading »

• During the sexual revolution of the 1960s, people wanted to have sex without children, but in 2010 we find ourselves trying to have children without sex, with the help of reproductive technology. This inversion of the principles underlying the human family can have some arresting . . . . Continue Reading »

First Things’ January issue has been sent out to subscribers, and is now available online. It is, if we might say so, brimming with intellectual variety. The issue opens with James Nuechterlein’s Public Square column, where he analyzes the roots of discomfort with patriotism, and how those who value religious orthodoxy can be patriots without being idolaters… . Continue Reading »

• After almost six centuries, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven”the oldest continuing Catholic university in the world and alma mater to such distinguished graduates as Erasmus, St. Alberto Hurtado, and Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen”is rethinking the whole “Katholieke” . . . . Continue Reading »

After a twelve-year absence, the revered indie director Whit Stillman has just finished filming a new movie—at last. The December 2010 First Things offers the first extensive profile of Stillman in years, an exclusive look at his exile from Hollywood and his struggle to get funding for a new . . . . Continue Reading »

American University Washington, D.C. ft rating: academic 27.9,social 31.3, religious 16.4Established by Congress in 1893, American University quickly became a creature of the Protestant establishment, staffed and funded primarily by Methodists. The Kay Spiritual Life Center houses the campus . . . . Continue Reading »

From Abilene Christian University in Texas to Zion Bible College in Massachusetts: For this survey, First Things began by collecting information on 2063 college and universities in America. It was mounds and mounds of material, starting with previously published college guides, information the . . . . Continue Reading »

Now online (and possibly in the mailboxes of those who subscribe), the November issue of First Things, featuring our first ever survey of America’s colleges and universities. Unlike other rankings, we include the schools’ social and religious life as well as their academics… . Continue Reading »

The October issue is”such is the way magazines work”in the mail and now available online. It is a full, stimulating, informative, entertaining, and provocative issue, if we say so ourselves. The issues opens with Joseph Bottum’s “Holy War Over Ground Zero,” and continues with three reports, including young and famous pro-life activist Lila Rose’s story of how she came to run undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood facilities … Continue Reading »

In the most popular movies from 1991 to 2009, the amount of smoking peaked in 2005 and is now going down, with fewer than half the scenes with someone smoking now than in 2005. Here is a way to visual Shakespeare’s plays . The city of Philadelphia is demanding some bloggers pay $300 for a . . . . Continue Reading »