Free Republic

Unfortunately it took a scandalous retraction three years later to admit it as the study's authors originally reported that the results indicated that conservatives had psychotic personality traits and liberals had traits associated with high social desirability.  This much-touted research study in fact revealed just the opposite: The authors regret that there is an error in the published version of “Correlation not Causation: The Relationship between Personality Traits and Political Ideologies” American Journal of Political Science 56 (1), 34–51. The interpretation of the coding of the political attitude items in the descriptive and preliminary analyses portion of the manuscript was...

end current California laws on postsecondary education to make two main changes. The first is limiting the religious exemption from the Equity in Higher Education Act to educational institutions that are controlled by a religious organization specifically to train ministers. Seminaries would still be allowed to retain the exemption, but most Christian colleges and universities in California would no longer qualify. The second stipulation is that it would require postsecondary educational institutions that receive the exemption to post a notice of it in a “prominent place” on campus, on their websites, on all brochures, and so on. An amendment removed...

ARLINGTON, Virginia, June 2, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – The loss of religious freedom is leading to a “bloodless” persecution in the United States, a prominent Catholic archbishop warned at the ceremonial opening of a new graduate school last month. At the opening of Divine Mercy University, an expansion of the Virginia-based Institute for Psychological Sciences, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori implored Catholic institutions to stand strong amidst ongoing challenges to religious liberty. The newly-enlarged University integrates Catholic philosophy with modern psychology in order to train mental health professionals in fidelity to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Lori chairs the U.S. Bishops’...

There are some Catholic bloggers and commentators saying that it is okay to vote for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton because, even though they are pro abortion, they are “pro life” on other issues. Health care is a “life” issue, they argue. A living wage is a “life” issue. Good treatment of immigrants is a “life” issue. Torture is a “life” issue. This is a lie. Do not be taken in by it and do not propagate this lie. Use your common sense. Health care, immigration reform, gun control, a living wage, torture and care for the poor are not...

Moscow, June 7, Interfax - Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov suggests to celebrate the Day of Russia's Independence on July 28, the Day of Russia's Baptism, and St. Vladimir, instead of June 12. "Today we introduced a draft law, tomorrow Oleg Smolin will speak about it in the State Duma. We suggest to abolish celebrations on June 12, and to declare July 28, the day of commemorating Holy Prince Vladimir, the Day of Russia. It is also the day of Russia's Baptism," Zyuganov told journalists on Tuesday. According to him, the Baptism of Russia played a historical role in forming the...

The morning prayer from the Koran was read at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul on the first day of Muslim Ramadan, Monday, June 6, in the presence of Turkey’s general secretary of religious affairs. The former Byzantine church that now serves as a museum, will turn into a mosque for the next 30 days and the Koran will be read daily until July 5, when Ramadan ends. Religious state channel TRT Diyanet will be broadcasting daily at 2:00 pm from Hagia Sophia. The fact that the former Christian Orthodox Church that for the past 80 years has operated as a museum...

North Carolina State University infringed on the free speech rights of a student-led Christian group, a federal judge has ruled. Chief U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III, calling his action “in the public interest,” issued a preliminary injunction Saturday against NC State’s speech permit policy, saying it violates the students’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech. “The judge pretty much granted the entire request that we asked for,” a lawyer for the students, Tyson Langhofer, told The Daily Signal. “Essentially, everything in the final order that we requested was granted.”

Before answering the title question, let's look at a few facts drawn, for the most part, from an episode on Saul Alinsky and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) produced by Church Militant T.V. Find it here: http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/ciax-2010-03-07. The broadcast dates back to 2010, but Catholics, Protestants, and religious skeptics alike should watch it because the fruits of the Alinsky-USCCB partnership have ripened. In 1938 when atheist Saul Alinsky was working with juvenile delinquents in Chicago, he struck up a friendship with two Catholic brothers, Joseph and Msgr. Peter Meegan who together acquainted Mr. Alinsky with the inner...

Moscow, June 3, Interfax - The Interreligious Council of Russia expresses concerns over mass abortion practice in the country. The Council consisting of leaders and representatives of Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism pointed out in its special statement that Russia holds one of the leading places in the world on the number of abortions - "the number of the violently aborted lives in mothers' womb on various estimations totals to a million or even exceeds a million." The authors of the document are convinced that "human life starts from the moment of conception, which corresponds to views of our religious...

Psalm 71:3,4 & Psalm 35:3 Be to me a Great Protecting Rock, Lord, where I am Always Welcome, Safe from All Attacks. For You have Given the Order to Save me. Rescue me, O God, from these Unjust and Cruel men. Draw out also the Spear, and Stop the Way against them that Persecute me: Say unto my Soul, I Am thy Salvation.

Muhammad Ali preached a bold truth that is not at all like that of the Radicalized Islam that we see in the world today. In this interview from 1977, Muhammad Ali was visiting Newcastle, England and it was a typical question and answer type of forum where his British fans could ask him questions. During the interview Ali goes onto ask how many people in the audience believe in God -

A representative of the Holy See, in an intervention at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva last week, welcomed Sustainable Development Goal 3 and all its targets, despite target 7 calling for “universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services.” These terms are defined as including abortion and contraception by many powerful governments and agencies. Monsignor Jean-Marie Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers told the WHA that the Holy See commended the report on health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the United Nations’ Sustainable Development...

St. Catharine College in Kentucky is closing its doors after a protracted fight with the U.S. Department of Education left the small Roman Catholic school in a financial hole. Three months ago, St. Catharine filed a lawsuit against the department for withholding more than $1 million in federal loans and grants as a condition of heightened cash monitoring, a form of federal oversight the school was subjected to for more than a year. Although government officials said their decision was made in error and promised to reimburse some of the money, the damage proved too much for the school to...

"Ahmed, who is a professor at Middlesex University, was asked about the phrase “so-called Islamic State.” His answer was enlightening: “I hear so many people say ISIS has nothing to do with Islam—of course it has. They are not preaching Judaism. It might be wrong but what they are saying is an ideology based on some form of Islamic doctrine.” He added that the Islamic nature of ISIS is “a fact and we have to get our head around some very uncomfortable things.”

Moscow, June 2, Interfax - Russia will insist on the fulfillment of UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to political settlement in Syria for territorial integrity's sake, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. "We will firmly insist that the UN Security Council resolution on political settlement principles be fulfilled in the interests of Syria's preservation as a single, territorially integral, sovereign and secular state," Lavrov said in his opening remarks at an Orthodox Easter reception. "Obviously, it will not be possible to ensure reliable protection of the Christian population in the [Middle East] region and to achieve lasting stabilization in general...

The mantra of progressivism over the past century has been the unstoppable 'progression' of human society, government, and technology towards a supposed utopian future free from war, disease, and poverty - a future where humans are masters of their own universe, unshackled from anything and everything holding us back and united as citizens of the world. Yet no "progressive" (be they communist, socialist, technocrat, or humanist) stops to ask if this is a possible or even worthwhile goal.  No one of that political persuasion questions whether their philosophical outlook is the right one to have nor why it is justifiable...

Moscow, June 2, Interfax - The Russian Foreign Ministry is concerned over a sharp increase in discrimination on religious grounds in Europe, predominantly towards Christians. "Despite the measures taken by states, the OSCE area saw a severe increase in intolerance based on religion towards Jews, Muslims and, especially, Christians, over recent years. Christianity, its relics and followers have been subjected to oppression, violence, persecutions and discrimination," Russian Foreign Ministry Ombudsman for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said at the conference titled The Role of Religion in the Modern World, the Russian ministry's website said. Manifestations...

The Philadelphia School District will add two Muslim holidays to its calendar, placing it among the first in the nation to do so. In what would be an even rarer step, Mayor Kenney said Tuesday he also hopes to adopt the holidays for city workers. He has created a task force to determine how the change can be accomplished. A spokesman from the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington said his group is not aware of any cities that have included the holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, in their municipal calendars. "Philadelphia's history is based on being a place...

May 30, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Should the Church speak out in public – and also in political – debates? This question rushed back into the minds of those who followed the presidential elections in Austria at the end of April and the end of May. Austrians elect their president directly every six years. The winning candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes in the first round; otherwise a second ballot is held between the two most successful candidates. This term’s candidacy came down to Alexander Van der Bellen of the Green Party (Grünen) and Norbert Hofer of the...

SOUTH BEND — With health care now at a high price, many Christians are turning to what's called "health care sharing ministries" to help cover their costs. Every Sunday, you'll find Christy Cleghorn and her little family of four at church. Like many other parishioners, they're praising and thanking the Lord for their countless blessings. Blessings like their baby Ethan. At one point, Cleghorn didn't think she could afford to have another child. "When we had our first child, it took us several years to pay off the bill, and we felt the burden of that," she said. In the...