If the government were to redefine normal weight as one that doesn’t increase the risk of death, then about 130 million of the 165 million American adults currently categorized as overweight and obese would be re-categorized as normal weight instead. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/opinion/our-imaginary-weight-problem.html?_r=0 Read more

Roger Scruton argues that conservatism is a better home for good environmental policy than liberalism. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/01/7607/?utm_source=RTA+Blair+Environmental+Conservatism&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Peter Berger Yes, of course a religious community can offer comfort of the same kind as any other community. But religion offers something much more central than community in the abstract: It offers a community gathered around the message that death is not the final word about an individual life and nothingness not the final destiny of the universe. http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/berger/2013/01/10/why-are-there-no-humanist-funerals/ Read more

There is no end of controversy about Jerusalem, old and new. Archeology has become a full-fledged battlefield in the dispute over who has the superior claim to the city, Jews or Muslims. http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/5762/features/seeking-the-peace-of-jerusalem-or-a-piece-of-jerusalem/ Read more

While most Muslims laud Hamas and scorn Israel, for me, an observing Muslim, Israel’s war against Hamas remains my struggle – my jihad. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-jihad-is-mine/ Read more

Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar who was pushed out of her job because of her stance against civil partnerships, has lost her case at the European Court of Human Rights. http://www.christian.org.uk/news/christian-registrar-loses-european-court-case/ Read more

In Puritan New England, Protestant and Catholic churches are declining while evangelical and Pentecostal groups are rising. Why the nation’s most secular region may hint at the future of religion. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/1223/Who-s-filling-America-s-church-pews Read more

Unlikely characters, including gay men, are leading the French people in protest against redefining marriage. A repeating refrain is “the rights of children trump the right to children.” Americans should follow their example of mobilizing across party lines. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/01/7601/?utm_source=RTA+Lopez+France+Marriage&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

In a country where we oscillate between the extremes of realism and pacifism, learning the history of the just war tradition is important. A new book by David Corey and J. Daryl Charles offers us an introduction. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/01/6768/?utm_source=Peters+Just+War+Tradition&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Two points can best persuade young people about abortion: our need for laws that protect the weak and vulnerable and the deadening of conscience that often accompanies pro-choice sentiment. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/01/7198/?utm_source=RTA+Nieli+Marx+Abortion&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more