Ruth Institute Blog

By Kevin J. Jones

Washington D.C., Jan 25, 2012 / 05:52 pm (CNA).- A Democratic-leaning Catholic group’s favorable reaction to the Obama administration’s new contraception mandate is being criticized for neglecting the threat to religious freedom and wrongly claiming that contraception lowers the abortion rate.

“This is a real attack on the religious freedom of millions of Americans. People who care about the future of our country should not stand idly by,” said Eric Rassbach, national litigation director of the D.C.-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Read more…

First of all this week, there was a big (about 5,000 observations) sophisticated (University of Chicago Business School) study of bad behavior in little boys. Conclusion: little boys benefit substantially from living with both their biological parents. The second study was a little (78 observations) simplistic (unrepresentative sample, ideologically motivated researchers) of the Quality of Life of the children of lesbian couples. Conclusion: the children of lesbian couples are just as happy and well-adjusted as their peers.  Read more…

by Jennifer Roback Morse

This article was first published at familyinamerica.org on January 10, 2012.

Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men
Mara Hvistendahl
Public Affairs, 2011; 314 pages, $26.99

This brave and timely book has many strengths and one glaring, but understandable, weakness. The strength of this book is the reporting. Mara Hvistendahl, a liberal, pro-choice feminist, painstakingly documents the catastrophic consequences of the worldwide “choice” for male babies: gender imbalance leading to prostitution, sex slavery, and male frustration and aggression. The weakness of this book is the political analysis. She doesn’t understand how deeply Roe v. Wade changed American political culture, particularly within the conservative movement broadly conceived. But both these strengths and weaknesses work together to yield an honest and courageous book that should be read by anyone who considers himself (or herself) well informed. Read more…

Happy Thanksgiving!

To honor this special day, we’ve collected brief statements from college students and professionals involved in diverse ways in the marriage and life movements, and in the Ruth Institute. Here is what we are thankful for: Read more…

Summary: This chapter discusses the importance of marriage and the parent-child relationship on a child’s development and ultimately society. The human connections a child has during the first 18 months of life can affect the development of the child’s conscience which in turn affects his ability to be social. Biological sciences confirm the importance of relationships through the development of the brain. Though modern society tries to persuade us that we should not let having children hinder us from spending our time the way we please, human nature and Christianity urge us to give our time and our love to our children. Social science documents the importance of a complete family, a married mother and father, on a child’s development. In short, children with a conscience are matrimony’s gift to society. Read more…

For a little while longer the Ruth Institute will offer the prologue and forward by Chuck Colson as a free download. You can also get individual chapters for only $1.50 each! OR, download the entire book for just $9. That’s a real deal!

Here’s a summary of what you’ll find in Chapter Two, “The Gift of Sex” Read more…

I’m writing this message from Provo, Utah, where I am spending the week contributing to an academic conference and a student symposium. Many of the Students for the Family Symposium organizers were graduates of Ruth Institute programs. This Symposium is unique in that it features a “Call for Papers” and gives students and young professionals the chance to present their work. As I was moderating one of the sessions, I thought to myself, “I have heard lots of this material before. “ Then I realized: these young people have learned from the Ruth Institute programs. This presentation is their chance to make these ideas their own, so they can feel confident expressing themselves in discussion or argument or debate. I was certainly gratified to see them growing in skill and competence. Your support makes it possible for us to continue educating these young people. Read more…

by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

How science is consistent with the ancient Christian teachings

Now after all this theology and philosophy, you may be astonished by my next move. I am going to show that science now substantiates many of the important claims that Christianity has been making since the beginning.  Let me begin with the most basic. The human person is meant for love. Read more…

by Jennifer Roback Morse

Part 1 of 2

Dr. Morse gave this speech April 23, 2011, at Hong Kong Baptist University, at a conference of Western and Chinese scholars, entitled “The Family and Sexual Ethics: Christian Foundations and Public Values.” China is experiencing numerous problems due to family breakdown, including the one child policy, high divorce rates, and an imbalanced sex ratio. This conference was convened because many in China, even in the Academy of Science and in government,  are interested in what Christianity has to say about marriage, family, sexuality and society.  The conference papers will be translated into Chinese and published in book form.

Read more…

by Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D

First published at NationalReview.com on June 16, 2006.

Father’s Day is a day for honoring fathers. But I would like to take a step back and honor men as husbands. In our enlightened, liberated era, we have a tendency to overlook men as husbands, since the father is so often not the husband of the mother. But without some kind of connection between the man and the woman, there is quite literally, no child. I’d like to make the case that the most important thing fathers can do for their children is to love their mother. And likewise, among the many things mothers do for their children, one of the most important is that mothers love their children’s father.

As with so many things, our family learned this from our experience with disturbed children. We encountered a gifted therapist named Nancy Thomas who taught us that attachment disordered children need a strong mother figure to whom they can attach. These children don’t really believe that anyone can take care of them, that the universe is fundamentally a hostile place, and that they must take care of themselves. If the child perceives any weakness in the mother, the child cannot entrust himself to her. Read more…

We aim to support a culture of marriage, here on Catholic Radio of San Diego. The fallout from divorce creates some of the deepest wounds that people experience in their lifetimes. In this edition of “From the Front Lines of the Culture Wars,” we’re going to look at the divorce experience up close and
personal, from the man’s point of view. Join Dr. J this Monday, June 6, as she interviews Dr. Warren Farrell, author of numerous books including Father and Child Reunion. Listen to Dr. J and Dr. Warren Farrell as they discuss these crucial questions:

• Are all absent fathers really “deadbeat dads”?

• What are some of the forces making it difficult for fathers to continue being involved in their children’s lives? Read more…

Prepared remarks for Minnesota House of Representatives, hearings on the marriage amendment Dr Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage    May 2, 2011, St. Paul, Minnesota

I am Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage.  My doctorate is in economics, from the University of Rochester, in NY. I have taught at Yale and George Mason Universities. I have had fellowships with the University of Chicago, Cornell Law School, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford.  I have written two books on the social purpose and significance of marriage. I am the mother of an adopted child and a birth child. My husband and I were foster parents in San Diego County for three years. Read more…

Join Dr. J tonight from 6-7 p.m. PST, as she interviews Mr. Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling.

Listen to Dr. J and Andy Crouch as they discuss these crucial questions:

• What is culture and how do we change it?

• Can ordinary people really do anything meaningful to change the world, especially on marriage and life issues?

• What can a handful of people do to create a “culture of life” or a “marriage culture?”

• What is the difference between a metaphorical “culture war,” and an honest-to-goodness shooting war?

• Are Catholics and Protestants different in the ways they approach the “culture war” issues?

• How can we work more effectively together with our Protestant brothers and sisters?

As always, you can listen live in Southern California at AM 1000 KCEO, or listen live on the Internet at www.catholicradioofsandiego.com. Or, look for this and many other programs in the archives! We are adding new programs to the archives all the time, so be sure to check back frequently. And while you are there, consider supporting Catholic Radio of San Diego with a financial contribution.

by Jennifer Roback Morse

As an advocate of conjugal marriage, I am often told that I am on the “wrong side of History.” The justice of “marriage equality” is overwhelming; the younger generation favors it; same sex marriage is inevitable. But this analysis is false. Indeed, there is ample reason to think that the March of History storyline will be proven incorrect. The reason? We were told all these same things about abortion. Read more…

Today CatholicVote.org published an article that covers a lecture Dr J gave in early February. In fact we already have a thread about it. (Pro-Family Speaker Challenges Students) But apparently people are still writing about her talk, it is a presentation well worth revisiting, and the author of the article very succinctly sums up what I consider be one of the greatest dangers – if not the very greatest danger – of same-sex ‘marriage’. (See the second quote box below.) Read more…

This powerful video captures Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse’s (Ruth Institute) testimony to the Rhode Island House Judiciary on March 1, 2011. Reportedly, silence followed her testimony in our nation’s most Catholic state.

Click here.