In 1998 and 2023 the Wall Street Journal asked more than a thousand Americans what values were “very important” to them. In 1998, 70% of Americans deemed patriotism “very important;” in 2023, 38%. For religion: 62% in 1998; 37% in 2023. Having children: 59% in 1998; 30% in 2023. Only one value had grown in perceived importance: money.
Reversing these trends is the most pressing challenge facing our nation today. The only way forward is a return to Sir John Templeton’s commitments: religion as the wellspring of moral inquiry, intellectual humility, and enduring wonder at the world around us. Richard John Neuhaus founded First Things in 1990 to resist the recession of religious perspectives from public life and advance a substantive vision for its restoration in the public square. Our founding editorial from March 1990 articulates well our alignment with JTF. Put simply: Belief in God tempers political passions and instills humility.
Thirty-four years on, First Things has become an authority on faith and public life, having shaped the public conversation on many issues and earned the readership of influential religious conservatives around the nation. Given the state of intellectual inquiry, religious practice, and civil discourse, the time has come a significant investment in new modes of publication to grow our audience.
With JTF’s partnership, First Things will launch a series of thematic newsletters and podcasts on Substack and publish corresponding tent-pole essays in our magazine. The newsletters will offer more high-quality content to current readers while defining and segmenting our current audience. They will grow our audience by identifying new readers with interest in the topics covered. And they will serve as a platform for possible supplementary podcasts and video essays. In short, this newsletter project will advance the values that First Things and JTF share to hundreds of thousands of people, including many new readers, over the next three years.
