Government for the Good of the People: Ten Questions about Freedom, Virtue, and the Role of Government
Today's political debates are often muddied by misconceptions of the role of government and its responsibility to American citizens. What are the limits of good government? How can the virtues necessary for freedom flourish? Sustaining ordered liberty depends on good answers to these questions.
Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability
By extolling freedom of religion in the schools, President Bill Clinton has raised the level of debate on the importance of religion to American life. The time is ripe for a deeper dialogue on the contribution of religion to the welfare of the nation.
Marriage, Parentage, and the Constitution of the Family
Policymakers should adopt reforms to strengthen families and rebuild civil society as the engine of the greatest human goods.
Social Justice: Not What You Think It Is
For its proponents, "social justice" is usually undefined. Originally a Catholic term, first used about 1840 for a new kind of virtue (or habit) necessary for post-agrarian societies, the term has been bent by secular "progressive" thinkers to mean uniform state distribution of society's advantages and disadvantages. Social justice is really the capacity to organize with others to accomplish ends that benefit the whole community. If people are to live free of state control, they must possess this new virtue of cooperation and association. This is one of the great skills of Americans and, ultimately, the best defense against statism.
Twelve Anti-Family Gifts from Congress
There are at least a dozen detrimental policies included in the omnibus spending bill recently signed into law by the President.
Death Tax: Time to Kill It Forever
Congress should stick with current policy and permanently repeal the death tax once and for all. Abolition of this harmful tax will help spur economic recovery, put unemployed Americans back to work and increase the long-term growth potential of the economy.
Revenge of the Dirty Dozen: 12 Policies that Undermine Civil Society
Taken as a whole, these 12 policies serve to undermine traditional families, devalue life and human dignity, and weaken civil society in American life.
The Home Truth About Marriage and Family
With each new year comes a new State of the Union Address. Doubtless this year's address will focus on the economy. But as the president's speechwriters hunch over their keyboards to pound out drafts of this year's oration, they would do well to include some language about the state of our family unions.
Lessons From a Former Addict's Victory
He invited drug addicts into his home. So reads the obituary of Pastor Freddie Garcia, one of the great lights that left us in 2009 after nearly 40 years of ministry showing others the way.
How to Make Better News on Marriage
Prioritizing the health of marriage in public life begins with having the data to diagnose problems. But it also requires ideas to address the problems.
Same-Sex Marriage Would Force Departure of Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is the social services arm of the Catholic Church, and each year 68,000 people in the District benefit from its work. However, some of these programs may be in jeopardy.
Assaulted by sex-ed
Much of what is being taught to our young girls and boys in sex-education classes is too graphic and vulgar to be quoted in the newspaper.
Culture wars and the political future of the U.S.
American soldiers engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan remind us that our debates about the state of American culture are far from actual "wars." Unlike other societies where division often leads to violence, we inherited a framework for resolving our differences according to shared principles and practices of constitutional government.
Obama’s Faith-Based Office Shouldn’t Put So Much Faith In Government
A recent Washington Post article reports that several faith leaders are sensing a new tone from President Barack Obama’s office on faith-based initiatives. According to Stanley Carlson-Thies, who has worked closely with the office under both Presidents Bush and Obama, rather than creating a fair playing field for the good works of faith-based groups, Read More...
Prayer and Public Policy: A Constant Interplay
A short piece in today’s Washington Post examines President Obama’s religious faith. The occasion of the article is the President’s remarks today to the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event held at this time of year in the capital. Interestingly, the article does not attempt to distinguish among the usages of prayer in the Read More...
The Truth about Abstinence Education: What Obama and Pelosi Don’t Want You to Know
Yesterday, a new study was released showing that abstinence education programs were effective in reducing teen sexual activity while conventional safe sex programs had no positive effects. Ironically, this finding comes at a time when President Obama and the Pelosi/Reid Congress have abolished all federal funding for abstinence and created a new funding stream Read More...
Abstinence Education Effective in Reducing Teen Sex, Comprehensive Sex Ed Not
A new study concludes that abstinence-only education had a significant and long-term effect in reducing teen sexual activity. “The abstinence-only intervention reduced sexual initiation,” reports the study, which is featured in the most recent issue of the medical journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association. The study found that a Read More...
Same-Sex Marriage and a Level-Playing Field for Religious Argument
Last week, the evidentiary phase of the trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger came to an end. Perry is the federal court lawsuit in California that claims, in effect, that the U.S. Constitution contains a right to same-sex marriage. Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 amendment to the California constitution that Read More...
Why Religion Matters Even More:
The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability
Over the past decade, considerable research has emerged that demonstrates the benefits of religious practice within society.[1] Religious practice promotes the well-being of individuals, families, and the community.
Of particular note are the studies that indicate the benefits of religion to the poor.[2] Regular attendance at religious services is linked to healthy, stable family life, strong marriages, and well-behaved children. The practice of religion also leads to a reduction in the incidence of domestic abuse, crime, substance abuse, and addiction. In addition, religious practice leads to an increase in physical and mental health, longevity, and education attainment. Moreover, these effects are intergenerational, as grandparents and parents pass on the benefits to the next generations.
Chuck Donovan writes an op-ed on the "Mommy Wars" in The Kansas City Star
Want less government? Defend marriage - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee
Restoring a culture of responsibility - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee
RN-T.com - Restoring cullture of responsibility
Restoring a culture of responsibility - Opinions - Wire - BradentonHerald.com
Religion and Civil Society Fellowship
Are you a seminary student studying to become a pastor or priest, or a grad student studying religion and public life? Would you benefit from a semester in our nation’s capital exploring the intersection of faith, government, and civil society? The Religion and Civil Society Fellowship provides an opportunity for select seminary students to work alongside Heritage Foundation experts while researching the implications of religious faith for a healthy social order.
Religion Civil Society Fellowship
Third Annual Conference on Religious Practice in America
Religious Practice and the Family
The Heritage Foundation's 2009 conference Religious Practice and the Family focused on the impact of religious belief on the family, including such issues as parenting, parent-child relationships, and marital quality and stability.
The conference featured presentations by leading researchers in the arenas of religion and family issues and Christian Smith, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame delivered the keynote address.
Click here to watch Dr. Smith's address and read the papers presented by the conference speakers.
FamilyFacts.org provides credible data, research and talking points for policymakers, journalists, scholars and the general public. Developed by The Heritage Foundation's DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, FamilyFacts.org catalogs social science findings on the family, society and religion gleaned from peer-reviewed journals, books and government surveys. From marriage and parenting to religion and sexuality, FamilyFacts.org puts thousands of social science findings related to the family at your fingertips.
Indivisible
Social and Economic Foundations of American Liberty
Indivisible is a unique set of essays by well-known social and economic conservatives--each writing from the other's perspective--to show the interdependence of key issues, such as free exchange and family, in advancing freedom and human dignity. (PDF)
The Economy Hits Home This series of booklets is designed to show how free market policies and a limited, constitutional role for government are the ideal conditions for creating a family-friendly society.
- The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom
Read | Listen | Watch - Religious Liberty in Indonesia
Read | Listen | Watch - Signature in the Cell: DNA Evidence for Intelligent Design
Read | Listen | Watch - Conservative Women's Network
Read | Listen | Watch - Surviving Hollywood Without Losing Your Moral Compass




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