Room for Debate: The Pulpit and the Ballot Box

Caring in All the Wrong Ways

Randy Boyagoda, author, "Richard John Neuhaus"

The identity politicking God talk crowds out a a more substantive involvement of religion in debates about public policy and the future direction of the nation.

Insight Into a Candidate's Worldveiw

Colleen Carroll Campbell, author "My Sisters the Saints"

The real question voters should be asking when they ponder a politician's faith: Does he actually mean it? Does it influence her public and private choices?

An 'American Religion' Transcends Sectarianism

Yehudah Mirsky, Theologian and rabbi

The foundation of our civic life lies in our adherence to universal moral truths because of individual conscience and communal affiliation.

Religious Groups Encourage Religious Campaigns

Anthea Butler, Professor of religious studies

Iowa's Republican caucus season resembles a revival more than a campaign because of the power of conservative Christian organizations.

Have Faith, We'll Have an Atheist President

Penn Jillette, author, "God, No!"

Some day there will be a candidate America loves, and the fact that she or he is atheist will matter as much as Kennedy being Catholic.

Religious Convictions Are Deep and Abiding

Michael Novak, theologian

Like it or not, Americans have always been concerned about freedom of religion, and scrutinized campaigning politicians carefully. They should.

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Room for Debate: Paying for Workers' Training

A recent article about the demand for welders in Texas and the Gulf Coast region highlighted a growing partnership between the energy industry and community colleges. As the economy still struggles, and a so-called skills gap persists, who should pay for workers' training?

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Room for Debate: If a Woman's Place Is on the 20

Introduction

Joe Mortis

A campaign has begun to put a woman on the $20 bill by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the United States.

Who better to make room for a new honoree than the current resident, Andrew Jackson? Even if you don't think he's a genocidal racist, he opposed paper currency. So if we wave bye-bye to Jackson, what woman should we welcome?

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Room for Debate: Deciding an Institution's Future

Without congressional reauthorization, the Export-Import Bank, which guarantees loans to the overseas customers of thousands of American companies, is slated to close this summer. The future of the institution is driving a wedge between free-market and pro-business Republican lawmakers.

Should Congress save the Export-Import Bank, or let it expire?

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Room for Debate: What Happens as More States Curtail Labor's Rights?

Income Rises When These Laws Are Passed

Richard Vedder, Economics professor

Capital moves to right-to-work states with a more stable labor environment, and that increases labor demand and, ultimately, income and wages.

Wages Are Lower in States With These Laws

Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute

Unions bargain for better wages and benefits, and workers in "right-to-work" states have lower wages and fewer benefits.

A Key to Economic Growth

Scott Manley, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

Business leaders say that they look for "right to work" states when they're seeking a place to locate or expand.

Call It 'Right-to-Work-for-Less'

George Gresham, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

Its aim is to deprive unions of dues money essential to their ability to represent workers and enforce contracts.

Both Sides Exaggerate Its Effects

Barry Hirsch, economics professor

It can strengthen unions by forcing them to be responsive to workers. And they might not encourage growth as much as supporters say.

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Room for Debate: Are Same-Sex Colleges Still Relevant?

Last week, the board of Sweet Briar College, an all-women's school in Virginia, announced that it would be permanently shuttered in August due to "insurmountable financial challenges." The school's president, James Jones, Jr., attributed the close, in part, to the declining number of "young women willing to consider a single-sex education."

Is there still a place for same-sex colleges? Do they play an important role in education, or are they outdated?

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Room for Debate: When the Elephants Exit the Big Top

Now Let the Tigers and Camels Go, Too

Katherine Applegate, author, "The One and Only Ivan"

When I was a child, going to a circus with wild animal acts was a rite of passage. These days, it's an act of complicit cruelty.

This Is Not a Victory for All Elephants

Grey Stafford, zoo animal trainer

A picture in a book or a video doesn't begin to have the same lasting impact on a person as experiencing a real, living creature.

Take Your Kids to an Elephant Sanctuary!

Virginia Morell, author, "Animal Wise"

What does dressing up elephants as if they are show-girls and making them perform tricks teach our children?

Traveling Circuses Are Easy Targets

Dominique Jando, circus historian

PETA and politicians trying to win votes and praise have blindly and unfairly attacked circuses in a way that has become hurtful to the industry and the performers.

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Room for Debate: Digital Friendships

It Can Make Real Life Friendships Easier

Jazmine Hughes, editor, The Hairpin

Online, you can choose to opt in — friend, follow, favorite — any person that piques your interest, because of what you can find out about their interests.

Face-to-Face Friendship Is Important

Sherry Turkle, author, "Alone Together"

An in-person exchange cultivates empathy because you are able to experience the whole person and the way they respond to you.

Increased Social Support, Even Online, Is Beneficial

Alice Marwick, author, "Status Update"

Most of us fluidly move between on- and off-line social contexts, and so do our friendships.

Projecting Onto the Screen

Nicholas Carr, author, "The Glass Cage"

The anxiety that virtual friends feel when they're about to meet in person is telling.

Does Easier Intimacy Lead to Easier Infidelity?

Katherine Hertlein, professor, Marriage and Family Therapy

Online anonymity permits risks we'd usually avoid. People think this does not make them unfaithful, because there was no actual meeting.

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Room for Debate: What Makes a Good Teacher

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed major changes to teacher evaluations in New York. The changes emphasize student scores on standardized tests as a way to rate a teacher's performance. It is a trend that is popping up across the country, raising concerns among teachers, administrators and public school parents, some of whom are refusing to let their children take the exams.

If this approach is not the way to go and yet American students are still academically behind their peers in other countries, how do we ensure and improve teacher quality such that student success is a given?

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Room for Debate: Can a Genetic Test Be Anonymous?

The F.D.A. has allowed 23andMe to market genetic tests for mutations directly to the public. The agency said that, for the most part, so-called carrier tests would no longer need advance approval before being marketed this way. But 23andMe is also offering access to its data for research, opening up questions about privacy and anonymity.

Should commercial companies share genetic information for research purposes? Is it an invasion of privacy or is the potential for scientific breakthrough more important?

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