Kevin Kruse convincingly claims that the association of patriotism with Christianity comes from a libertarian reaction in American business to the New Deal.
Posner’s attempt to intertwine Vatican finance with a history of the papacy—"rampant corruption, pervasive nepotism, unbridled debauchery"—isn't neutral, or correct.
Worshipping with families of Antiochian Christians in Philadelphia, you are an interloper. At the coffee hour, they pile your plate with pastries—"you are new, yes?"
The Obama administration has not made grandiose claims about what a deal with Iran on its nuclear program can achieve. But there is reason for guarded optimism.
The political activist, public intellectual, and "father of modern linguistics" talks about Oscar Romero, Old Testament prophets, and the politics of fear.
The French writer Henri Ghéon lost his faith at fifteen and regained it after living through war. His 'Born in Battle' is a powerful account of religious rebirth.
The emergence of the Islamic state; the tension with Iran; and the sinister turn events have taken in Israel are attributed in Europe to American irresponsibility.
Appy’s view is that American exceptionalism is an obnoxious and dangerous delusion, and his broadside against it recounts a litany of Vietnam atrocities.
This story is fascinating in its own right, but what makes the shootings of these four Jews a worthy subject of Timothy Ryback's arresting new book is their timing.
The humorous tone of Lev Golinkin’s new memoir doesn’t prevent him from engaging with topics of deadly importance: tryanny, communism, anti-Semitism, and childhood.
Finding himself in a close race, Israel's prime minister resorted to scare-mongering and demagoguery on what one is tempted to call an almost biblical scale.
Boehner’s inviting the leader of another nation to criticize our own president, and Netanyahu’s decision to accept, threaten to damage the U.S.-Israeli coalition.
Boko Haram is called an Islamic insurgency, but beneath the veneer of religious ideology lies a savage and opportunistic agenda of criminality and bigotry.
Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper' has provoked criticism from both right and left. It's awash in patriotic spirit, it glorifies war. It's also a pretty bad movie.
Tracing the political thought of Israel's founding father, Shlomo Avineri reminds readers that the Zionism of Herzl's time is very different from Zionism today.
The Paris terrorists attacked a principle central to all liberal democracies: the freedom to speak one’s mind freely, without fear of being locked up gunned down.
Robert White never forgot the murders of four churchwomen in El Salvador, and never ceased pressing for better political and economic conditions in Latin America.
Are those who died heroes and martyrs for free speech and tolerance? Not every victim is a martyr, and one does not become a hero simply by offending people.
I am sad for France of course, for the journalists and the others who died. But mainly I am sad for mankind. For the person who got shot, but also for him who fired.
In defending the use of drones, Obama has classical just-war tradition on his side. But just-war tradition has come to be read in a new and legalistic way.
Written before he and seven fellow monks were kidnapped and beheaded in 1996, this personal journal reflects story of Algeria in crisis and courageous spirituality.
A low voice emerged: “Welcome to my home. Please, sit.” My host and I shook hands, and I took the chair opposite. I remember the details because he was a terrorist.
Ancient religions that have survived centuries are often the most persecuted: Mandaeans, Yazidis, Zoroastrians, Druze, Samaritans, Copts, and the Kalasha.
Can we now say with confidence that our government will not use torture again? In light of reaction to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report, I fear we can't.
In James Carroll’s latest, Jesus actually—now as for the apostles—emerges from within the long, recurring history of Jewish persecution and bereavement.
Francis Fukuyama's new book examines the rise and decline of the American political system in the broader history of democratic process, intelligently & enjoyably.
Recent evidence suggests that if we intervene in Syria, we are less likely to end the suffering than to compound it, stretching the killing out over decades.
