No, Donald Trump is not a political genius; we are not all MAGA; Kamala Harris is not a vapid non-entity; the institutions of liberal constitutional democracy…

What problem is campaign finance reform supposed to fix? Some say it is the extreme amount of spending in politics. For example, I don’t…

In the interest of national unity and to protect the rule of law, President Joe Biden should take a magnanimous step and pardon President-elect Donald…

I don’t know who will win the pres­i­den­tial elec­tion, but I know who will lose — any­one who re­lies on the full…

No religion alive today is fit for a future revival.

The coming secular civilization will have regional variations borrowing concepts and even rituals from local religions.

Presidents can do a lot — a lot of good and a lot of harm. But they can’t do everything. That should both frighten and reassure us as the presidential…

If Kamala Harris ekes out a victory over Donald Trump in November, one former Democrat in particular will deserve a large portion of the credit —…

This election is about a lot of things. Trump’s criminality. Biden record. Harris’s lack of proposals. And many other issues.
But the election…

Author and law professor Bruce Ledewitz warns that the rejection of objective morality and meaning imperils the future we claim to want.

Does secularism have room for elements of human life traditionally associated with God?

It’s Sep­tem­ber be­fore a No­vem­ber pres­i­den­tial elec­tion. No one knows which party will win the pres­i­dency…

In a hundred years, the Nones will likely be a majority of the US population. What will that secular society be like?

It is not often that both political parties raise the same theme at the same time in the middle of a presidential election.
That is what happened recently,…

The GOP vice presidential nominee, Ohio senator JD Vance, called for American nationalism in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention…

There is con­tro­versy over the sound­ness of sev­eral Supreme Court de­ci­sions this past term. But there should be no de­bate…

The Supreme Court did America a favor by ruling that ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted for their official acts after they leave office. Admittedly, this…

I recently spent a week watching blue collar Americans at work. These are workers I do not usually really see. They clean buildings at night, provide security,…

Although some in my party — the Demo­cratic Party — felt joy over the crim­i­nal con­vic­tion of for­mer Pres­i­dent…

Two weeks ago, I wrote a column criticizing the irresponsibility of politicians, and the indifference of voters, concerning the national debt. I received…

In terms of the national debt, I don’t know which political party is worse. The Democrats refuse to acknowledge that the current level of deficit…

Politicians in Washington are busy drafting laws that they claim will protect the safety of college students, especially Jewish college students. But…

Biology is not policy. So, even if we could all agree that life begins at conception, that would not determine what the law of abortion, or other ways…

President Joe Biden should insist as a condition for debating former president Donald Trump during this fall’s election campaign that Trump recant…

Federal constraints leave a narrow — but important — role for a 2021 state constitutional amendment addressing racial equality.

Would Israel survive the fall of Ukraine? Would Taiwan? Republican leaders in the House certainly think so. While criticizing and blocking military aid…

Two justices say there is a constitutional right to abortion, but it’s not clear the full court will consider the question.

The crisis at the southern border is caused by bad laws. We could cure the problem by returning to an older American tradition — structured open immigration. Not an open border. Whatever the law is, it must be enforced. It is not acceptable that our current laws are ambiguous and

It’s winter: dark, dreary and cold. There is a palpable feeling of dread in America as we face the upcoming 2024 political season. Pundits wonder why everyone is so grumpy. Positive economic news fails to change the national mood or lift the electoral prospects of President Joe Biden. We are

When President Joe Biden went to Israel shortly after Hamas’s murderous attack of Oct. 7, he not only pledged that any hostile strike against Israel…

By: Bruce Ledewitz*

We read stories all the time about the decline of organized religion in America. Around one-third of Americans answer “none” when asked on surveys about their religious affiliation. Self-identified Christians still make up a majority of the population — 63% — but that is down from 90% in the 1990s.

Joe Biden has done a very good job as president. I want to see his record vigorously and effectively defended in the 2024 presidential election. Because of his age, I don’t think Biden is the right candidate to do that. That is why I sent a campaign contribution to U.S.

The other day, I did something most of my fellow liberals have never done — I had a serious conversation with an essential worker. He could have been a grocery clerk, a construction worker, a health care aide or innumerable other job classifications. He could have been female or male,

The struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is a religious struggle. That is why compromise is so difficult and peace so elusive. Israel and Hamas are not equivalent. Hamas sent its forces into Israel specifically to kill and kidnap as many civilians as possible. That is barbarism, not warfare.…

It wouldn’t be the first time a Minnesota senator transformed a campaign season.

When the Post-Gazette reported that Duquesne University ranked very low on a national survey of free speech, my first reaction was that the survey must…

The Pennsylvania Constitution specifically protects the right to a healthy environment

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, the weekly newspaper that, as its masthead proclaims, “connect[s] Jewish Pittsburgh,” says that my representative…

Bruce Ledewitz argues that the criminal prosecutions related to the 2020 election are going to prove more difficult than is generally assumed.

federal Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by asking social media sites to delete posts containing false information, including misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and the 2020 election.

And for the same reason — for the good of the country and the health of our democracy.

A real debt deal that puts America on a sane fiscal path does not appear likely no matter who is in charge in Washington.

Overreach by the government should not be ignored, even if the victim is Donald Trump.

Any chance that Trump might become president should be avoided at all costs. Democrats have a role to play in the nominating process.

Federal jurisdiction over this case introduces enormous complications, both practical and legal.

A university is exactly the place where such explorations must take place if America is to remain a free society.

‎Show Supreme Myths, Ep Professor Bruce Ledewitz – Apr 21, 2023

The Pennsylvania Constitution is very clear as to what should happen when there is a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.

A movement that is largely invisible to secular Americans poses a very real threat to our secular and pluralistic democracy.

We’re citizens — not subjects. The two governors ignored that fact in their unconstitutional haste to punish two corporations.

Is our liberal system in need of improvement? Of course. Is it worth saving? Obviously.

Predictions are difficult, especially, as Yogi Berra might have said, about the future.

The most conservative of popes showed a surprising openness to dialogue.

Americans seem to want the promises and benefits of religion without the rigors of belief and faith.

The doctrine, for all its faults, would protect the public from judicial partisanship.

The effort to remove Krasner is a recall masquerading as an impeachment. And Pa., unlike other states, doesn’t have recall.

Donald Trump needs to be removed from public life. It’s time for the AG to fish or cut bait.

Even with a GOP-controlled House, there’s still the prospect of bipartisan wins for President Joe Biden.

Yes, American law has a future. The constitutional project is not exhausted. It is not over.

Who doesn’t long to start again? Who doesn’t wish to shed all the mistakes of the past?

Invoking the debt limit keeps the government from paying bills we already owe.

Because we get so much of our news online, many Pennsylvanians did not see the advertisement of five proposed amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution that were published in Pennsylvania newspapers on Thursday, Sept. 1 — three months before the next general election as prescribed by the state constitution. If approved in the next legislative session, […]

It means that the Democrats’ chances of retaining control of Congress and the White House just improved

Republicans run the risk of creating the very constitutional right to abortion they are trying to prevent.

A balanced budget is the way to bring back the working class, especially voters of color.

Picture by Claire Anderson on Unsplash. This article is part of our “Kennedy, Carson, and Dobbs: Law and Religion in Pressing Supreme Court Cases” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. I was unhappy, but not surprised, to see Canopy Forum including Dobbs v. Jac…

The cases that are bothering people require a democratic political response. They do not demand a surrender.

A minority got something the majority doesn’t want. Imposing their will won’t be as easy as they think

The bottom line: Inflation is far worse than higher taxes

Ban all body armor sales for civilians and slap a hefty tax on assault weapons and ammo.

The future of liberalism lies in secularism. What is needed for a renaissance in liberalism worldwide is a spiritual revival in secularism itself. To put this another way, the current crisis in values after the Death of God could be thought of as the birth pangs of the creation of the first genuinely secular civilization in human history.

The question really is whether we can trust the justices not to be zealous, partisan fanatics. Some Americans don’t. And that’s the issue.

The justices harmed the rule of law when they refused to enjoin Texas’ restrictive, six-week abortion ban.

Structural racism does not require evil people dressed in white robes to be effective. It operates quietly, but relentlessly.

Justices don’t make campaign promises. They interpret the law – and that perspective can change over time.

American public life remains as unhealthy as it was before Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion.

The crisis in Ukraine, and the courage of its people, presents America with a chance for a national renaissance.

If Mastriano can be called to testify, why not every Republican legislator who voted to reject lawful Biden electors?

Doesn’t the decline of American religion take us closer to the world we want? Maybe. But this in-between period is hell.

Bitter partisanship stops the country’s leaders from doing much about society’s biggest challenges. But Duquesne University law professor Bruce Ledewitz argues there is a way out of the dysfunction, and he says it begins with digging into its root cause.

Fraught times demand radical inquiry. In “The Universe Is On Our Side,” Bruce Ledewitz argues that the cause of the nation’s divisions…

The Commonwealth Court decision striking down mail-in voting for the 2022 election is probably unconstitutional. This is why.

If you agree with the justices that the people must rule, then you should also support getting rid of the filibuster.

Americans are legitimately worried about the future of democracy.

The Universe Is on Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life [Ledewitz, Bruce] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Universe Is on Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life

Even if President Joe Biden is no FDR, it is still true that the only thing we have to be pessimistic about is pessimism itself.

I n The Universe Is on Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life Bruce Ledewitz argues that there has been a breakdown in Americ…

Image by Fabio Valeggia from Pixabay. It is the common and traditional view that disputes over the recognition of religious holidays — disputes over creches and menorahs on public property, for example — are a clash between religious and secular citizens over the meaning of the Establishment Clause in the Constitution. But this is an…Read More

Based on the Rittenhouse verdict, the rest of us are now unsafe around anyone with a gun.

“To discover to the world something which deeply concerns it, and of which it was previously ignorant; to prove to it that it had been mistaken on some vital point of temporal or spiritual interest, is as important a service as a human being can render to his fellow creatures…”
John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty”

Free Made Local Event | Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 6 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Pittsburgh’s Oakland Neighborhood

Both political parties have been irresponsible about the national debt. Do the Dems want to make it worse?

An atheist podcast hosted by John C. Snider. “Question. Think. Decide.” If you’d like to contribute to the podcast, you can Paypal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com.