| Leading off this week’s curation is the latest essay in our 1776 Series, in which Notre Dame's Vincent Phillip Muñoz explores how the American Founders' conception of religious liberty could help encourage moderation and compromise in our politics today. He argues that the Founders viewed religious liberty as a natural right, part of a larger fabric of rights and duties within a free political order. Furthermore, the Founders promoted neither a “wall of separation” between religion and politics nor state mandated religion and thought that state and federal governments were free to favor religion for valid civic purposes. Muñoz also notes that while the government has the option to accommodate religious believers who may find that a specific law burdens their consciences, individuals have no general right to be exempt from otherwise constitutional laws. Dan McLaughlin argues that there are four essential pillars holding up the edifice of the American experiment: republicanism, democracy, liberalism, and constitutionalism. As he notes, for the first 75 years of its existence, the United States was the only government in human history that combined all four of these ideas into one coherent foundation. Ken Masugi highlights the work of President Trump’s 1776 Commission in light of the recent argument from the U.S.’s ambassador to the United Nations that white supremacy was weaved throughout our “founding documents and principles.” “Only when we see that the evil of slavery lies in its tyranny (with its corruption of both slave and master),” Masugi argues, “do we understand the history of American politics as a struggle, often successful, to realize the Declaration’s equality.” Original Posts Vincent Phillip Muñoz, RealClearPublicAffairs The meaning of religious freedom remains one of the more contested areas of our constitutional politics. The progressive left tends... In the News Scott Yenor, American Mind Stanley Kurtz, National Review Greg Weiner, The Constitutionalist Jane Robbins & Emmett McGroarty, Public Discourse Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes Dan McLaughlin, National Review Rick LaRue, The Fulcrum Zack Smith, Heritage Foundation Joe Williams, Smithsonian Jonathan Johnson, Deseret News Cornel West & Jeremy Tate, Washington Post Teresa Manning, National Association of Scholars Kathy Chouteau, Richmond Standard Tom Vander Ark, Forbes Glenn C. Loury, City Journal Robert McDonald & Tony Williams, BRI Scholar Talks Author of the Declaration of Independence, leader of the political opposition, and third president, Thomas Jefferson is one... Wilfred McClay & Peter Wood, Bradley Foundation On this episode, Wilfred McClay and Peter Wood discuss why 1620 should be seen as the year of America's founding, why the Constitution... Chris Flannery, The American Story On this episode, Chris explains why “the finest Shakespeare collection in the world” is ensconced in Washington, D.C.... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories On this date in 1785, John James Audubon was born. I wrote about him once before, but the particulars of ... Good morning. It's April 23, 2021, a Friday -- and you know what that means. This is Tom Kavanagh again, ... Good morning. It's Thursday, April 22, 2021 -- the 51st Earth Day. As was true for last year's golden anniversary ... | 
