It was about six years ago that FRC launched The Social Conservative Review. We began publishing the SoCon to provide serious social conservatives with articles about the issues critical to FRC’s agenda of advancing and defending human dignity.
We have grown from a small audience to about 15,000 subscribers, including people affiliated in some way with nearly 300 colleges and universities. We feature stories not only by Evangelical and Catholic writers but leading secular journalists. My colleagues in FRC’s Policy Department and I have sought to offer timely, informative, and motivating coverage of such things as the defense of the unborn and their mothers, the social and political redefinition of human sexuality, the trafficking of persons at home and abroad, and domestic and international religious liberty.
This is the last SoCon Review I will be editing and publishing, as at the end of this month I will be leaving FRC to take a full-time teaching post at Regent University, a wonderful school that is becoming one of the premier institutions of Christian higher education in the world. I am honored to be joining this select band of scholars and students.
I know that as editing duties for the SoCon fall into the very capable hands of my colleague Dan Hart, the Managing Editor for FRC Publications, you will continue to profit from the articles and commentary our colleagues and he will be collating every two weeks.
All the blessings of our country—liberty and security, peace and opportunity, prosperity and community—exist for us because of the benevolent and wise guidance of a loving and just God, One Who has bestowed upon this unique nation gifts unknown to all but a handful of people in the long history of life on earth. Thousands of men and women have sacrificed their lives to ensure the well-being of ours, and every day brave Americans put themselves at grave risk for our sakes. We owe them an inestimable debt.
America’s imperfections, historic and present, are real and apparent. We grieve for them. Yet with God’s direction and strength, may we always work to create a more perfect Union for ourselves and our posterity.
I would be remiss not to close with this: Jesus Christ is real. He is not some imaginary friend whose existence and meaning are obscured in the fog of antiquity. The biblical accounts of eternal deity, His virgin birth, sinless life, atoning death, and justifying resurrection are true. Jesus calls all of us to trust in the forgiveness He offers as a free gift to all who will receive it.
My prayer for SoCon’s readers is that you will accept this gift without delay. There is no greater or more joyous decision any of us can ever make.
With great appreciation,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President
Family Research Council
Religious Liberty
"Free to Believe"
Phoenix Artists Threatened With Jail Time If They Don’t Serve Gay Weddings – Leah Jessen, The Daily Signal
Judge Faces Removal, $40K Fine Because of Her Beliefs About Marriage – Ken McIntyre, The Daily Signal
Obama Threatens Hospitals: Perform ‘Sex Changes’ or Lose Federal Funding – Bre Payton, The Federalist
The Left is Now Targeting Christian Schools in its Potty Crusades – Holly Scheer, The Federalist
Dispense Contraception or Pay U.S. $1000 – Wesley J. Smith, National Review
Christian Student Groups In America Require A Permit To Speak To Other Students? – Vinay Patel, University Herald
International Religious freedom
The Chinese Christian Crackdown – The American Interest
Four Reasons Why We Leave – Andrew Knight, Desiring God
Christian Refugees in Germany Report High Levels of Religious Violence – Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today
US official warns ‘door for Christians in Iraq is closing’ – Ines San Martin, Crux
Military Religious Freedom
Memorials Under Assault: The Left’s Depraved War on America’s Heroes – Nate Madden,Conservative Review
Why military chaplains need the Russell Amendment – Mike Berry,The Hill
Making Memorial Day About More Than Grills – Daniel Briggs, Alliance Defending Freedom
Religious Liberty in the public square
A new evangelical political alignment: The Liberty Party – D.C. Innes, World Magazine
Atheist Relents; Enters Legal Agreement to Cease Filing Lawsuits Over Free Exercise of Religion – First Liberty Institute
Group of Atheists, Humanists Sues to Remove National Motto “In God We Trust” from U.S. Currency – First Liberty Institute
Life
Abortion
Fetuses Are People, Hillary Said; Let's Make Sure Our Laws Agree – Debby Efurd, The Christian Post
Evangelicals Cheer Pro-Life Vote at Methodist Conference – Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today
Sex-Selection Abortion: The Real War on Women – Anna Higgins, Charlotte Lozier Institute
New Report Wildly Inflates Global Abortion Numbers – Arina O. Grossu & Thomas Jacobson, The Federalist
Why Abortion Supporters Try to Silence Men – Kira Nelson, The Federalist
Humanizing Aborted Fetuses Through Burial – Wesley J. Smith, National Review
Adoption
Abortion and the Problem of Personhood – Jonathan Leeman and Matthew Arbo, Canon and Culture
Lawmaker: Adoption Doesn't Have to Be This Expensive – Diane Black, Christianity Today
Why It Can Be So Hard to Choose Adoption Over Abortion – Emily Carrington, The Federalist
How to Address America’s Foster Care Crisis? It Takes a Village – Kelly Rosati, Christianity Today
Bioethics
Scientists Creating Human-Animal Embryos Raises Ethical Concerns – Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post
Millions of Chinese Parents Turn to In Vitro Fertilization as One-Child Policy Relaxed – Louise Watt, The Stream
When Doctors Kill Patients to Harvest Their Organs – William M. Briggs, The Stream
Democrats Demand GOP Stop Investigating Fetal Harvesting Industry – Dustin Siggins, The Stream
Obamacare
Little Sisters of the Poor Win Big in Obamacare Case – Roger Severino, The Daily Signal
Explainer: What you should know about the Little Sisters religious liberty case – Joe Carter, ERLC
Congress Receiving Unconstitutional Obamacare Subsidies – Robert E. Moffit, Heritage Foundation
Family
Family Economics
Obama’s Overtime Rule Tried at IBM, and It Didn’t Work – James Sherk, The Daily Signal
Ticketing Children for Selling Lemonade Highlights Overcriminalization Problem – John-Michael Seibler, The Daily Signal
Empty nests are an endangered cultural phenomenon – Ashley Bloemhof, World Magazine
Marriage
Sins of their fathers & mothers – Mary Jackson, WORLD Magazine
The Divorce Revolution has Bred an Army of Woman Haters – W. Bradford Wilcox, The Federalist
We All Make This Marriage Mistake—But Here’s How I Overcame It – Kathleen O’Beirne, Verily Magazine
Healthy Individuals Create Healthy Marriages – Jill Savage, Focus on the Family
Human Sexuality (homosexuality/ gender issues)
Our Constitutional Right to Privacy Is Missing From Bathroom Debate – Matt Sharp, The Daily Signal
Out of Lesbianism, Into Complementarianism – Jackie Hill-Perry, Council On Biblical Manhood & Womanhood
Why You Should Stop Using The Word “Gender” – Stella Morabito, The Federalist
A Former Transgender Person’s Take on Obama’s Bathroom Directive – Walt Heyer, The Daily Signal
Women fight for a safe space in their restrooms – Leslie Loftis, The Conservative Woman
Beware of ‘trans movement’ as patriarchy in disguise – Pia de Solenni, Crux
Give Elsa a girlfriend? No, give the kids a break – Carolyn Moynihan, Mercatornet
A De-Sexed Society is a De-Humanized Society – Stella Morabito, The Public Discourse
Human Trafficking
45.8 million people are enslaved in the world today– GlobalSlaveryIndex.org
Daughters for Sale: How Young American Girls Are Being Sold Online – Gloria Riviera, Jackie Jesko, and Sally Hawkins, ABC News
Pornography
The anti-porn movement is growing. The public is just catching up – Haley Halverson, The Washington Post
The case for banning pornography – Matthew Schmitz, The Washington Post
Why Can't I Quit Porn? – Eddie Capparucci, The Christian Post
This Research Reveals the Real Side Effects of Our Sexualized Culture – Mary Rose Somarriba, Verily Magazine
