Institute on Religion & Democracy

The Challenge of Protecting Religious Minorities in Syria - Part 2 Minorities are not concerned primarily about abstract ideas of rights and self-determination, but above all with survival.

Ancient communities face the reality that their survival now hangs in the balance.

Human Rights Without Illusions IRD President Mark Tooley chats with human rights scholar Aaron Rhodes on his new book Human Rights Without Illusions: Escaping the Moral Trap of Universalism.

The modern, global human rights regime sits on the foundation of Hellenistic stoicism and medieval Christendom, where natural law morally unified humanity.

Becket: Gen Z Men, Women Diverge on Religious Liberty A new report from a law firm specializing in religious freedom highlights emerging divide between the men and women of Generation Z.

While Americans’ overall attitudes towards religious liberty remain positive, a new report from a law firm specializing in religious freedom highlights an emerging divide between the men and women of Generation Z.

Global Methodists in Liberia Awarded Control of Disputed Properties The ruling effectively permits Global Methodists to assume possession of the properties in question, pending any further legal adjudication.

A ruling by the Supreme Court of Liberia effectively permits Global Methodists there to assume possession of disputed properties, pending any further legal adjudication.

The Challenge of Protecting Religious Minorities in Syria - Part 1 If we get policy right now, there will be a stable, and hopefully 'open and democratic Syria … If we get it wrong now,' there will be 'a genocide within three, four years.'

Amidst grave concern about religious freedom for minorities in Syria, it is difficult to see how the new government’s Islamist goals can be reconciled with either religious freedom or democracy.

Post-Dispensationalist America The decline of Dispensationalism’s influence does not signal an evangelical retreat from the public square, but rather a fundamental reorientation of it.

The decline of Dispensationalism’s influence does not signal an evangelical retreat from the public square, but rather a fundamental reorientation of it, writes Albert Thompson.

Focusing on the Cross of Christ On the cross we can see just how corrupt humanity has become and yet at the same time just how far divine intervention is willing to go to save us.

“We could not rejoice that there is a God, were there not a Mediator also; one who stands between God and men, to reconcile man to God, and to transact the whole affair of our salvation.” -John Wesley

Martyrdom and the Resilience of 'The 21' On February 10, Coptic Orphans commemorated the 11th anniversary of the 21 Coptic Christian martyrs of Libya. A short animated film, The 21,...

Across the Levant, Christians find themselves caught in the middle of larger confrontations and marginalized as victims of lawfare in countries across the region, writes William Roberts.

Catholic Influencers' Antisemitism Problem Among the most prominent influencers on the new right are some who trade in their Catholic identity as currency to push ideas contrary to the Church.

Among the most prominent influencers on the new right are some who trade in Catholic identity as currency to push ideas in conflict with church teachings. Sarah Stewart argues that, while the Church isn’t capable of responding to every bad actor, these four have a prominence necessitating response.

Jesse Jackson as Religious Left Icon Jesse Jackson’s death represents perhaps the end of two eras. He was an icon of the Religious Left and of...

Jesse Jackson, writes @markdtooley.bsky.social, was an icon of the old Religious Left and, for the historic black church, from a world that is fast receding if not already gone.

Join us March 7 for our Professional Women’s Brunch featuring Dr. Susan Yoshihara of the American Council on Women Peace and Security. There will be food, mimosas, and time for networking. Guests encouraged! This event is for women and will take place 11am–12:30pm. RSVP: theird.org/events/ird-p...

Capitalism & Christianity IRD is starting a new initiative making the Christian case for capitalism and free markets.

IRD is starting a new initiative making the Christian case for capitalism and free markets, which @markdtooley.bsky.social discusses with Jack Fowler on the Victor Davis Hanson Show.

What Did Wesley Say About Fasting? Our actions are not the point, it’s God’s work in and through them that matters.

now that we’re just about to Ash Wednesday, and therefore Lent, it’s time to think about fasting.

Post-Liberal Catholicism & Anti-"Zionism" Postliberal Catholic social influencer (and former Miss California beauty queen) Carrie Prejean Boller’s claims of “Zionist” control of the U.S....

Postliberal tribalists point to a nastier world in which religion becomes largely a self-defensive tribe constantly warring against other tribes, writes @markdtooley.bsky.social on Postliberal Catholic social influencer Carrie Prejean Boller.

Wednesday Worship with the Rev. Robert Hasler The Rev. Robert Hasler, a Presbyterian minister, spoke to the IRD staff and guests on Psalm 21 themed “God Is Strong to Save.”

The Rev. Robert Hasler of Christ Presbyterian Church in Burke, Virginia joined us on February 11 for our “Wednesday Worship” noonday prayer and luncheon preaching on Psalm 21 themed “God Is Strong to Save.”

Will you be in the D.C. area this Friday? Please join us for a traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner with Alexander Raikin, Jewish writer and visiting Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center on February 13 at 6:30 p.m. For more info and to RSVP, see: theird.org/events/shabb...

West Virginia Methodist Lawsuit Dismissed, Appealed A lawsuit by United Methodist congregations alleges that leadership in the West Virginia conference provided “fraudulent” information to churches in order to prevent their disaffiliation.

A lawsuit brought by nearly three dozen West Virginia United Methodist congregations is being appealed and reassigned to a new judge after an initial dismissal of the case. As IRD's Sarah Stewart reports, the disaffiliation issue is not going away.

Karen Swallow Prior on 'You Have a Calling' Author Karen Swallow Prior of Bethel Seminary joins Mark Tooley to discuss her new book You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful.

Author @karenswallowprior.bsky.social discusses her new book “You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful”.

Wesleyans, Experience and Revival Wesleyans should never relegate the experience of God, but we can be assured of its benefit when we ground it in Scripture.

Not every tradition within Christianity places such emphasis on experience. But as the Wesley brothers (and many others) were swept up in the Evangelical Revival, experience became a hallmark of the movement.

The Anti-Christian Core of Feminism Gress ... asked whether or not such a thing as “Christian feminism” is possible. She believes it is not possible. Feminism, she found, is concerned with “control and power,” whereas Christianity focus...

"Feminism has created a shadow church," assesses Institute for Human Ecology scholar Carrie Gress at the Catholic University of America. But the two cannot be fused, she insists, finding that feminism is concerned with “control and power,” whereas Christianity focuses on charity and humility.

Mere Anglicanism in an Age of Expressive Individualism Christians are contesting an alternative gospel in the present age, one that promises fulfillment through the longings of the self,...

“Individual fulfillment is an oxymoron; we are not designed to find fulfillment in ourselves,” Vaughan Roberts shared at
Mere Anglicanism. As Christians contest an alternative gospel of Expressive Individualism, the Church where humanity is realized.

Shabbat Dinner - The Institute on Religion and Democracy We are pleased to invite you to join us for a traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner on Friday, February 13th at...

Will you be in the Washington, D.C. area next week Please join us for a traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner on Friday, February 13th at 6:30 p.m. More at:

Anglicans Examine Embryonic Rights Ahead of March for Life Attempts to control what only God controls, the creation of human life, have idolatrous consequences that local churches will need to address.

Clergy and laity need to prepare their local churches to address the ethical ramifications of conceiving children outside of the womb. What does it mean to be human?

Witness Worthy of the Name Christian How are we Christians to bring their faith to bear in public life without forcing Scripture and Our Lord into the service of our preferred conclusions?

How are we Christians to bring their faith to bear in public life without forcing Scripture and Our Lord into the service of our preferred conclusions?

Wuthering Heights and the Distortions of Lust Brontë's Wuthering Heights is about what happens when people choose to feed their lust, how it warps, distorts, and ultimately destroys.

Wuthering Heights is often discussed as a love story. Is it?

Wesleyans, Scripture, and Holy Conferencing Together And are we yet alive,and see each other’s face?Glory and thanks to Jesus givefor his almighty grace! These words of...

Scripture is beautiful, a masterpiece of God’s handiwork, but also beautiful in that it lays out God’s vision for our salvation and how he will ultimately make all things new, writes the John Wesley Institute's Dr. Ryan N. Danker.

Homeland Security Eases Clergy Visas The Department of Homeland Security recently issued guidelines easing the employment of foreign clergy, a move praised by church leaders, though concerns remain about their sufficiency.

On January 14, the Department of Homeland Security issued guidelines easing the employment of foreign clergy, a move praised by church leaders, though concerns remain about their sufficiency.

C.S. Lewis and Children C.S. Lewis did not then simply learn to tolerate children but to love them with a monumental generosity. We can and should learn to do the same.

Give thought to what C.S. Lewis shared and demonstrated on the value of children, Sarah Stewart writes.

Can Pope Leo Gain from Trump's Board of Peace? Pope Leo has positioned the Vatican as a force to maintain the rules-based order of the last century.

Pope Leo has positioned the Vatican as a force to maintain the rules-based order of the last century. He also expresses dismay at heritage institutions like the United Nations.

Christian Revival Among the Young? In our divided, contrarian times, there is a wide impulse to react against what our adversaries disdain.

Often, IRD's @markdtooley.bsky.social asks teachers and others who work among young people if they see evidence of more religious belief and almost always, they say yes.