What do the source texts actually say?
Take a divisive question. Look it up in the Bible, the Torah, the Quran, the Buddhist teachings, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. Cite everything. Skip the spin.
161 questions · 23 topics · 8 source traditions
Start with a question
Browse all 161 →- Immigration & Border SecurityWhat the Bible Says About Immigrants and ForeignersThe Bible commands love and just treatment of immigrants and foreigners more frequently than nearly any other obligation.
- Separation of Church & StateThe Establishment Clause and Separation of Church and StateThe Founders — many of them deeply religious — deliberately separated church and state through the First Amendment's twin religion clauses.
- Gun Rights & ViolenceWhat Religion and the Second Amendment Say About Bearing ArmsReligious traditions support self-defense while consistently warning against weapons becoming the primary response to social problems.
- Voting Rights & ElectionsWhat the Constitution Says About the Right to VoteReligious traditions affirm the equal moral standing of all people — the premise on which any case for broad voting rights rests.
- Reproductive RightsDo Religions See Judging Others as a Sin?Every major religious tradition identifies judging others as a moral wrong — Jesus's "judge not lest you be judged," Pirkei Avot's "do not judge your fellow…
- War Powers & Foreign PolicyStriking Iran Without a Declaration of WarReligious traditions across the board place the decision to go to war in collective, accountable bodies — not in a single ruler.
- Economic JusticeWhat Religious Teachings Say About Wealth InequalityEvery major religious tradition treats wealth as a serious moral concern and concentrated wealth as a particular danger — Jesus on the eye of the needle, the…
- Polarizing Ideologies & MovementsWhat Scripture and the Constitution Say About Christian NationalismOn the substantive religious question, mainstream Christian theology has historically been wary of merging church and state — and many of the most vocal…
Every question is read two ways
Religious perspectives
What Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism teach in their own texts — Leviticus, Matthew, the Quran, the Talmud, the Dhammapada — with chapter and verse you can click through and read.
Constitutional & legal framework
What the Constitution, its amendments, the Declaration, the Federalist Papers, and the Supreme Court have actually said, linked to the annotated Constitution and the opinions themselves.
Topics
Why this exists
This project started with one conversation, asked out of confusion about whether recent events squared with either the moral teachings most Americans claim or the founding principles the country claims. Rather than argue, it looked things up. Read the conversation that started it, or read about the method.
If you disagree with what you find here, that's the point: your position is probably to one side of the middle. Knowing where the middle is makes it possible to talk to people on the other side of it.