Free Republic

The campus culture war is a religious war, a so-far largely peaceful counterpart to the violent purges and revolutions of jihad. One faith has been expunged, relegated to the margins of the academy, and now another fills the vacuum. Out with the Christianity that spawned American higher education, in with a ferocious new faith — a social-justice progressivism unrestrained by humility and consumed with righteous zeal. Contemporary Americans — educated in the kind of revisionist history that dominates our educational system from top to bottom — forget that higher education was initially a thoroughly Christian enterprise, in keeping with the...

The Maine State Planning Office hosted a two day seminar at the University of Maine on August 9 and 10 to plan how they want to manage our land in the future. Somehow I received an invitation. I signed up quickly because space was limited. There were about 90 attendees the first day. Most were from the MSPO, various planning agencies, environmental groups and government officials. I think there were a few interested citizens the first day. The two central themes were to get comprehensive plans adopted and updated everywhere and to prevent sprawl. In all the literature offered there...

A controversial community process called Tulsa Talks is drawing a host of criticism because its purpose, backing and methods are misleading. The stated goal of Tulsa Talks is to form study circles of 10, each with a trained facilitator, to get feedback from the public concerning Tulsas education efforts. The goal is to have 10,000 Tulsans trained in 1,000 groups. Critics are saying Tulsa Talks is a thinly disguised effort to sway public opinion using the Delphi process, a strategy that invites input but dismisses it in favor of a predetermined line of thought. Study circles have been used in...

Dear Spirit Daily, I recently graduated from the Pastoral Formation Institute, which is sponsored by the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.  The overhead goal of this institute is to educate and empower lay faithful to assume more active roles in Our Church.  The reality, however, is somewhat different.  This institute has been hijacked by a select few, whose agenda appears to be the systematic dismantling of centuries - old Catholic teachings in favor of an entirely secular and un-Catholic agenda.             Attached is a letter which I’d like you to publish anonymously.  Please contact me by either phone...