Prepared for piety

America’s cultural norms—its mores—have changed drastically over the past decades. The rate of regular religious attendance has taken a precipitous drop, while the number of Americans who believe in no religion at all has steadily risen (until recently). This trend has had tremendous impacts on the country’s policies, its national messaging, and the lives of all new Americans.

But some believe the time is now ripe for a religious revival. For his New York Times column, ISI alum Ross Douthat points to several developments that point to an open door for religious writers in 2024. He notes that many realize that secularism has led to deep anxiety and meaninglessness, and he sees more and more people turning to pseudo-religion, like drugs, astrology, and aliens.

So Douthat, whose new book Believe comes out early next year, highlights three new books on religion that might help step into this opportunity. He starts with David Bentley Hart’s All Things Are Full of Gods, which takes the form of a dialogue between retired Greek gods and argues that mind and self must be more than matter.

Then Douthat mentions Light of the Mind, Light of the World, by Spencer Klavan, which uses science to contend for the “primacy of mind” and the necessity of supernatural consciousness. Douthat concludes with Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age from Rod Dreher, which tells stories of the “persistence of enchantment” and divine interaction in the modern world.

Read Douthat’s piece with our NYT guest link here.

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Weekly Poll

Do you consider yourself a regular attendee of religious services?

[A] Yes
[B] Sporadically attend
[C] Don't attend

RESULTS: 10/17/2024

Do you think Columbus Day is worthy of celebration?

[A] Yes - 90%
[B] No - 6.2%
[C] Not sure - 3.8%

CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL (6 MIN)

Fights for freedom

Immigration policy has proven one of the most hot-button issues of the current presidential election. Our border with Mexico stands at the forefront of many decisionmakers’ minds, as politicians decide how to manage the flow of people and drugs into the country. But, of course, our nation’s policy isn’t the only one that affects the immigration situation.

Mexico recently inaugurated its new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and in The American Conservative, Joseph Addington analyzes Sheinbaum’s plan to battle cartels and support law enforcement. Addington, an ISI Collegiate Network Editorial Fellow, describes Sheinbaum’s “four-pronged strategy.” He believes Sheinbaum’s creation of social programs to incentivize leaving cartels is not the most effective idea, but he credits her other plans for understanding what’s necessary to beat organized crime.

For one thing, Sheinbaum wants to continue reforming the National Guard and effectively train it to battle the cartels. For another, she seeks to build up communication lines between state and local governments and the federal government. And finally, Sheinbaum plans to develop the Mexican intelligence services into a network that can provide “insight into cartel operations.”

Addington argues this “subtler technocratic approach” is a more “intelligent” way of building a successful response to the cartels, but it still depends on good execution and internal discipline.

Read his article here.

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CATEGORY: VIDEO

The Democratization of American Christianity | R.R. Reno, Nathan Hatch & Joshua Mitchell

At the annual Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) Homecoming in Wilmington, DE, one of the standout panels brought together Rusty Reno, Nathan Hatch, and Joshua Mitchell for a compelling discussion on The Democratization of American Christianity, a subject central to understanding both American religious history and its broader cultural impact. The panel, titled "The Democratization of American Christianity" explored how Christianity, particularly evangelicalism, has shaped the development of democratic ideals in the United States and how these dynamics continue to influence the present.

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Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.

5C Clubs Partnered with Organization Now Designated Terrorist Entity via The Claremont Independent

“On October 15th, the US Department of the Treasury announced that Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, commonly known as Samidoun or Samidoun Network, is now designated by the United States and Canada as a “terrorist entity.” According to the press release, Samidoun, which promotes itself as “an international network of organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom,” is a “sham charity” with the true purpose of raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Commonly known as the PFLP, the Popular Front was designated a global terrorist organization by the US and other countries in 1997 and again in 2001.”

Tackling the Unaffordable Rent Crisis in West Campus via The Texas Horn
“The end of October is just around the corner, which means many students at UT are starting to get anxious about housing for next school year. Some are desperate for roommates, some can’t decide whether to renew their lease, and some are scrambling to sign a new lease as apartment agencies entice students to sign quickly with early-signing perks and specials. What’s worse, students face sky-high rent prices for cramped, mismanaged, and often dirty apartments. Look at the Google reviews for any West Campus apartment complex, and you’re bound to find complaints about small room sizes, broken elevators, moldy apartments, or poor building management. Meanwhile, students are paying exorbitant fees for mediocre apartments."

Sunrise Princeton hosts “Emergency Rally For Climate Justice”; Princeton Resumes Energy Research Funding via The Princeton Tory
“On Friday, October 4, Sunrise Princeton, a climate justice student organization, held an “Emergency Rally for Climate Justice” in front of Nassau Hall. The rally drew approximately 30 attendees, who chanted, among other things, “Climate, justice, climate, justice,” “do your job,” and “cut all ties.” Attendance was noticeably lower than past Sunrise Princeton rallies, including an Earth Day march last semester which drew about 50 students. After 20 minutes, protestors dispersed. Sunrise Princeton’s rally was originally organized in response to the Princeton University Investment Company’s acknowledgement of owning Petrotiger, an energy company”

Brazil’s Chief Justice Barosso’s Visit to Hoover: A Dark Warning of Judicial Overreach for America via The Stanford Review
“In a September 23 visit to the Hoover Institution, Brazil's Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barosso shared his questionable outlook on Brazil's judicial system and the tumultuous political landscape. While visiting, Barosso presented himself and the court as stalwart defenders of democracy in the light of attacks launched by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro. However, his actions and proposals in Brazil—as well as his speech at Stanford—reveal a concerning pattern of judicial activism and overreach. Barosso began his speech with a startling revelation: Brazil's constitution is so expansive that it places matters that would typically be left to the legislative branch into the jurisdiction of the courts. The Brazilian constitution has over 65,000 words, across a staggering 250 articles! That’s almost ten times as long as the U.S. Constitution, which has only seven articles. The Brazilian constitution regulates matters as disparate as education, health, work, social security, parental rights, and more, topics usually left to the discretion of political branches in other countries.”

Circuit Judge Discusses Originalism During W&L Visit via The W&L Spectator
“Don’t just look at the surface. Don’t just look at the labels, but think hard about what those things mean.” Judge Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, stressed this message to W&L Law students on Friday, October 4. Quattlebaum’s discussion, titled “Originalism: Why and How?” was held at the Millhiser Moot Court Room at Sydney Lewis Hall. Judge Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. is originally from Durham, NC and received his undergraduate degree from Rhodes College and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. After law school, he worked in private practice in Greenville, SC for the law firm Nelson Mullins. In 2017, President Trump nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. After serving for six months, President Trump nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where he currently sits.”

CATEGORY: CONSERVATISM (4 MIN)

Madness of majority

A year ago, Politico ran an article covering the Federalist Society, the most significant conservative legal group in the country. The writer noted that at one point, he heard someone say, “We’re a republic, not a democracy.” He called this comment “a tongue-in-cheek slogan that some conservatives have adopted as a way to slyly signal their approval of minority rule.” That biting characterization deeply misses the point.

For this week’s article from the Modern Age website, the late Prof. George W. Carey defined “democracy” in an excerpt from American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia. Carey argued that majority rule was a problem to conservatives both now and at the Founding. He cited works by John Adams and James Madison that seek to avoid the dominance of an overbearing majority.

Institutional gridlock alone provides some measure of protection from this threat, but Carey said conservatives should also appreciate the benefits of representation, bicameralism, and the separation of powers, all of which serve to block excessive democracy. Of course, there are differences among conservatives here. Carey noted that some believe the Bill of Rights and the courts can stop powerful majorities, while others argue it’s up to cultivating virtue in the masses.

“Conservatives, on the whole, oppose a plebiscitary democracy because its foundations rest on a view of society as merely an undifferentiated collection of individuals,” Carey wrote, noting pure democracy’s association with the French Revolution.

Read Carey’s work here on the Modern Age website.

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Thought of the Day:

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

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