Religion

For all the bluster about the United States’ democratization policy, military action remains America’s principal weapon for confronting Islamist extremism. In many parts of the world, U.S. forces have teamed with the security and intelligence services of Muslim states to "take the fight to the enemy" and root out common foes. Muslim regimes from North Africa to Asia had been feeling the heat well before September 11 from Islamist groups that had labeled them apostate. Afterwards, joining America’s "coalition of… more

Abstract: Before the crucial upcoming debate over reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and all of the 10,000 general health reform questions that this discussion will engender, we should consider one fundamental moral question, for our answer will reveal the kinds of policies we actually want to pursue: Who should be allowed to sit at our health care table of plenty?

This essay sketches an answer to this question, drawing on the literature of various faith traditions as… more

The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual gathering of inspiring speeches and solemn moments of silence, recently drew President Bush and hundreds of lawmakers when it was held in Washington. This year, the event was unusual in that it was attended by much of what is the most religiously diverse Congress in American history.

The 110th Congress includes one Muslim and two Buddhists. The U.S. Senate is now led by a Mormon. All of these are firsts. The new Congress also includes… more

Despite all the attention Mitt Romney's religion has received, when he formally launches his campaign for president sometime in the next few weeks -- as he is widely expected to do -- he won't be the first Mormon to run for the office...Today many Americans remain deeply skeptical about the LDS church...Many conservative Christians, especially Catholics and evangelicals, still consider Mormons -- who follow non-biblical works of scripture, teach that God has a physical body, and believe in… more

So Christmas has survived yet another year.

Yes, there has been a war on Christmas, fought by a few lefty lawyers who managed to buffalo some multiculturalist bureaucrats and politicians. But it’s been a losing war:

First, and most obviously, there’s the steadfast religiosity of the American people; polls routinely show that 90 percent of Americans believe in God. Secular progressives have done their best to knock the faith out of people, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Part of the problem… more

The Washington Post's Sunday Book World holiday issue, named The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader as one of the best non-fiction books of 2006.  Washington Post editor Richard A. Clark said, "Bergen has written what will long be a 'go-to' resource." 

For the complete list, please visit The Washington Post website and for more information on The Osama bin Laden I Know, please click here.

When Howard Grossman moved to the northeastern Pennsylvania town of Wilkes-Barre 35 years ago, it was a thriving industrial city with a substantial, long-established Jewish community. Today, anyone who visits Wilkes-Barre cannot help but come away with the impression that this town of 43,000 has seen better days, and will perhaps see not too grand a future.

Along with the decline of the city’s industry, there’s been another loss: a massive reduction in its Jewish population. The community that numbered some… more

The Democrats have a Jewish problem.

For decades, the party of Roosevelt, Truman and JFK supported Israel with a heartfelt passion born from the belief that the Jewish state was good, just and democratic. However, the times they are a changing.

In recent years, strident voices have emerged condemning Israel as immoral, opportunistic and a drag on U.S. foreign policy...

Unless the Democratic leadership begins to condemn those within the party's ranks now attacking Israel, "It's going to be harder and harder to… more

It's a paradox of our time that the Amish, arguably the least technological people in America, have nevertheless proven to be extraordinarily effective at communicating what they believe. In a time of proliferating techno-clutter, they got their message across the old-fashioned way: through the blood sacrifice of martyrs.

Of course, there's no reason to think the Amish -- who lost five of their own in an Oct. 2 school shooting in Pennsylvania -- had any plan for teaching us a lesson… more

In a radio interview last week, prominent evangelical activist James Dobson said that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith "could pose a serious obstacle" if he decided to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Dobson said he thought that conservative Christians wouldn’t feel comfortable casting a ballot for a Mormon. Chances are, he’s wrong.

Sure, plenty of evangelical Protestants refuse to consider Mormonism a branch of Christianity. A Pentecostal missionary recently referred to the heavily Mormon state of Utah… more