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Category: Portico
Relational Diplomacy for Religious Freedom: The Playbook No One Can Write
September 22, 2026 • Portico
I asked Dr. Stephen Bailey how much of his work in Laos could transfer to another country. He was blunt. “It really depends.” Dr. Bailey…
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Foreign Aid: From Lifeboat Ethics to Lifeline Ethics
September 14, 2026 • Portico
The politics of foreign aid have always been challenging, but particularly so since the start of the second Trump administration, which has dramatically reduced aid…
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Religious and Cultural Parallels between the United States and Turkey
August 27, 2026 • Portico
Oftentimes we think of the United States being a secular country requiring separation between church and state. While this is true through the US Constitution’s…
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When Neutrality Is Not Neutral: Dutch versus French Models of Secularism
August 18, 2026 • Portico
Scholarship and advocacy surrounding the freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) often focuses on severe cases of persecution in states such as China or Myanmar,…
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Religious Literacy, Religious Freedom, and the Witness of Jesus
August 13, 2026 • Portico
As reported at Newsweek and Cowboy State Daily and elsewhere, Sarah Lucas, an Evangelical pastor in Wyoming with a strong desire to spread the Gospel…
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Why Covenantal Pluralism is Essential for the Prevention of the Weaponization of Religion: Case Study of Russia
August 10, 2026 • Portico
Early in June, Euronews announced Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), was added to a new round of proposed sanctions by…
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Is Religious Freedom Really for All People? Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Legislature Made Their View Clear
August 3, 2026 • Portico
Is religious freedom really for all people? That question has become surprisingly controversial. In recent years, I’ve had conversations with Christian friends, many of them…
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On Safeguarding the Human Person’s Religious Freedom from the Dangers of AI
July 29, 2026 • Portico
I remember the first time I used Artificial Intelligence (AI). It wasn’t ChatGPT, but when I was around 11 years old (I’m 20 for reference),…
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Disarming Our Definitions: A Path Toward Covenantal Pluralism
July 7, 2026 • Portico
I am currently reading The Brothers Karamazov. In “The Brothers Make Friends” chapter, Ivan says of the idea of God, “I acknowledge humbly that I…
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Why Religious Freedom Matters for Democratic Peace & Prosperity
June 28, 2026 • Portico
Imagine a social force that propels democracy, thriving economics, women’s empowerment, uplift for the poor, and peace. Remarkably, global research links religious freedom to all…
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Freedom in a Changing Global Landscape
June 28, 2026 • Portico
Our founders boldly challenged the British monarch’s restriction on freedom in the colonies, a radical affront to the common thinking of the day. With the…
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Human Nature as We Find It: Why Democracy Requires a Realistic Anthropology
June 26, 2026 • Portico
C.S. Lewis once observed that there are two main reasons to believe in democracy. One is because you have confidence in human nature. The other…
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