Tag Archives: Roman Catholicism

Mortifying

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

The frontier between religion and cult is ill-defined, but after reading this article in the Daily Mail it’s difficult not to conclude that one of the crossing points is to be found on London’s Chelsea Embankment: Sarah Cassidy is the … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Wisdom in Wisconsin

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Good news from the Wall Street Journal: Wisconsin is pushing to expand a controversial program that uses federal Medicaid funds to provide free birth-control pills, vasectomies and other forms of contraception to low-income people, an effort made possible by the … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Who are the cafeteria Catholics?

Posted on September 30, 2009 by David Hume

I was curious as to the effect of Catholicism, especially when it comes to “life” issues. The GSS has a range of questions on capital punishment and abortion. I looked at ABRAPE, which basically asks if you think abortion should … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Relevant and Challenging?

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Over at the New York Times today, Ross Douthat describes the pope’s new encyclical as “relevant and challenging.” Well, those are adjectives that can mean anything, but so far as the politics (I have no comment on the theology) of … Continue reading →

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Devout spies, cont’d

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Walter Olson

In your post about the Nicholsons, Heather, I hope you didn’t forget the case of Robert Hanssen, sometimes deemed the very worst Soviet mole ever, who was deep into ultraconservative Catholicism. (Wikipedia: “The Opus Dei priest who heard Robert’s confession … Continue reading →

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Miscellany, January 29

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Walter Olson

Ross Douthat doesn’t like Bertrand Russell’s “orbiting teacup” analogy and its modern Flying Spaghetti Monster descendant; Andrew Sullivan and readers then proceed to go ’round and ’round with the question [first, second, third, fourth posts] In the Roman Catholic Church’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 10 Comments

Church, state and education

Posted on January 17, 2009 by Walter Olson

Catholic schools are in steep decline, their enrollment having “steadily dropped by more than half from its peak of five million 40 years ago”, according to a New York Times account. Among the better-known reasons: 1) nuns and priests who … Continue reading →

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Miscellany, Dec. 19

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Walter Olson

Christopher Hitchens on Rick Warren’s inauguration role. You know you want to read it, so go ahead. Meanwhile, Heather’s piece yesterday on Warren is getting enormous traffic and made Memeorandum. I seldom (okay, almost never) agree with left-leaning blogger Scott … Continue reading →

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Religious-employee opt-out rights in health care

Posted on December 19, 2008 by Walter Olson

This topic, which I mentioned in passing last week, is back in the news with the announcement of an executive order by President Bush extending and entrenching the asserted right of hospital, clinic and pharmacy employees to defy their supervisors … Continue reading →

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Catholics lead interesting lives?

Posted on December 12, 2008 by David Hume

Ross Douthat responds to a post by Bradlaugh on various beliefs in the supernatural: But even extraordinary happenings aren’t, well, all that extraordinary. Religious belief exists and persists in part because religious experiences exist and persist – even if they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in data | Tagged , , | 20 Comments