Free Republic

A pair of gay Florida dads will have their son baptized this summer, following a soul-searching controversy within their Episcopal church that concluded with a meeting with — and the blessing of — their local bishop. “We talked about my being a part of the baptism and I told them I would be happy to do so,” said the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating Jack’s baptism at the Cathedral in the near future.”

On the heels of rioting and looting in the city of Baltimore, President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Americans to do some "soul-searching" regarding the issues that contribute to the violence. In a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama condemned the criminals engaging in violent acts and sought to draw a line between the rioters and the non-violent protesters. "When individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they're not protesting. They're not making a statement. They're stealing," Obama said. He added, "When they burn down a building, they're committing arson. And they're...

Democrats got the lowest share of the white vote in this midterm election than in any congressional election since World War II, losing key races in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan, and every contested election in Ohio, which spells trouble for President Obama’s reelection. No Democrat can win the White House without these Midwestern swing states, and they are all decimated by job losses that Obama has offered no road map to recover.Soul-searching is under way at the White House, but so far it looks pretty sterile.

I believe FR is comprised of a large body of intelligent and successful people from various walks of life and educational backrounds. That said, I propose the following question for your guidance and would appreciate your feedback. I'm 33, have Associates and Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science, 15 years of experience in my field, several premium industry certifications and 10 years of military service. I am currently an IT manager for a large pharmaceutical corporation and have a nice commensurate salary. All of my academic endeavors have been successful and I enjoy learning new things though I'm not a 4.0...

Sometimes recognizing a problem requires finding the right words to name it. Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton have coined a phrase that describes perfectly the dominant American religion: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Those authors are researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and have written up their findings in a new book: Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press). After interviewing over 3,000 teenagers, the social scientists summed up their beliefs: (1) "A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over...