This is a critical analysis of the history of the American Civil Liberties Union and at the same time the history of American liberalism in the twentieth century. It represents the first published account of the ACLU’s record. Other works on the organization either dealt only with specific issues or have been simply journalistic accounts. Donohue provides the first systematic analysis by a social scientist.

This book is directed at those interested in the history of American liberalism and, no less, the history of American conservatism, for ideological struggle within the United States touches directly on civil libertarian concerns. The work is especially significant for American constitutional lawyers, political scientists, and for those concerned with serious ideas in American life. Supporters as well as critics of the ACLU will be attracted to this work for different reasons. It is unquestionably the most serious work now available and is likely to remain the touchstone for any such work for many years to come.

The root cause of contemporary American psychological and social disorders, argues William Donohue in this major new book, is the dominant culture’s embracement of a fraudulent conception of freedom. In fact, the tension between an individual liberty without limits and the social need for civility and community has created havoc in the lives of many Americans.

Conventional wisdom about the nature of freedom is characterized by both the uncoupling of a concept of rights from a concept of responsibilities and by an overweening doctrine of moral neutrality. This preoccupation with individual liberty, to the neglect of other competing values, has left a trail of social discord that will be difficult to redress. Constraint of any kind is now seen as the enemy of liberty, and all that limits or burdens the individual in any way is seen as anathema to freedom.

The New Freedom critically examines how this new concept of freedom developed historically and why it exploded on the American scene in the 1960s. Its impact on the deepest recesses of American society, including marriage, the family, sexuality, the schools, the churches, and the criminal justice system, are fully explored. The costs have been high. Information on the psychological and social health of Americans suggests that all is not well. But the ultimate cost, says Donohue, may be the ultimate failure of liberty, as the fraudulent new freedom collides with the human need for community.

Sure to be controversial, The New Freedom will provide policymakers, social scientists, and specialists in the family, education, and religion a compelling new perspective on old questions. The book will also appeal to general readers who seek to understand the root causes of the nation’s unprecedented volume of social and psychological problems.

Twilight of Liberty is a sequel to Donohue’s highly regarded The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union, but with a marked change in emphasis. Instead of challenging the ACLU’s nonpartisan reputation, as he did in the earlier volume, Donohue now seeks to demonstrate why and how recent ACLU policy undermines the process of liberty. He argues that the ACLU, by relentlessly warring with mediating institutions, and by pushing a radical individualism in its policies, is not making us more, but less free.

Two conceptions of liberty are discussed. The first considers the social context in which the struggle for freedom takes place. It maintains that freedom is best achieved through a delicate balancing of individual rights with the legitimate needs of the social order. The other conception of liberty is atomistic, exclusively concerned with the rights of the individual. According to Donohue, such a definition assures the triumph of the state over the mediating institutions of society, thus reducing prospects for freedom.

This is the first book to critically analyze contemporary ACLU policy and to challenge its reputation as the preeminent voice of freedom in the United States. It aims to move beyond the idea that freedom is best served by pushing individual rights to extremes. Twilight of Liberty will appeal to scholars in the fields of law, social policy, and culture. Students in civil liberties courses will also find this book a valuable resource.

This assault is not happening from accident or whim. It is happening because disaffected liberals have deliberately set out to upend our Judeo-Christian traditions. Indeed, they are determined to tear down the traditional norms, values, and institutions that have been part of American society from its founding. The cultural debris that these saboteurs have created will take decades to clean up.

In feisty prose Donohue explores our nation where a college student is threatened with expulsion because she prayed on campus, a civil rights organization protests a statue of Jesus found on the ocean floor and a housewife sues a school district to stop the singing of Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer at a school choral production. These are just a few examples cited that demonstrate a culture descending into madness.

Donohue takes no prisoners as he digs out and exposes the groups behind this all-out attack on our Christian traditions. Among these are the radical atheists, the proponents of multiculturalism, the sexual libertines, the Hollywood elite with their not-so-hidden agenda and lawyers who collaborate for profit.

In recent years the Catholic Church has gone through turbulent times with the uncovering of horrible abuse–abuse that persisted and which could have been prevented by many within the Church’s own ranks. As a result many positive aspects of what the Catholic Church teaches and practices are now being overlooked, not just by the media, but by people in and out of the pews. This is not only unfortunate, but detrimental to society at large. As Donohue makes plain, the Church’s teachings remain the best guide to good living ever adopted. Moreover, the content of these teachings defy today’s typical ideological categorizations; the Church is decidedly conservative in matters of morality and compellingly liberal in social and economic affairs.

Always willing to speak his mind and put up the good fight, Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, reminds readers of the great wealth of charity and wisdom that exists in the Catholic tradition. In Why Catholicism Matters, he explores the four Cardinal Virtues—Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance—and shows us how the Church’s best attributes can be applied to solve many of the biggest problems society must confront today and in the future. From questions of liberty and freedom, to the use of contraception and abortion, to the need for courage in age of terrorism and religious intolerance, Donohue examines how goodness and morality can affect the world in the centuries to come.

“The good society lies in waiting,” Donohue writes, “but the right recipe has been around for two thousand years. The more we learn about the inspiring record of Catholic social teachings and their application to real-life problems, the more likely it is that all of us will see how unfounded the negative stereotypes of Catholicism really are. But first we need to be educated about the glorious record of these teaching. Then we will know why Catholicism Matters.”

Religious Americans are by far the healthiest and happiest of any segment of the population—this is true across religions according to recent Gallup polls. Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, goes a step further to show that Catholicism will not only make you healthy and happy, but it will ultimately lead you to heaven too.

In his latest book, The Catholic Advantage, Donohue turns his attention to the ways Catholicism is experienced by believers. He explores a simplified and practical way of looking at the faith, demonstrating how Catholic living enhances our well-being. With exciting new research and time-honored wisdom, Donohue shows how the application of beliefs, bonds and boundaries lead to a bountiful life, while the atheism, narcissism, and hedonism of secular intellectuals and celebrity culture paves the path to misery.

Donohue writes, “Catholics who have faithfully followed the precepts of their religion, and have lived a life of good health and happiness, are nicely positioned to experience even greater happiness in heaven. Anyone who bats three for three, especially given these stakes, must be doing something right.”

Mother Teresa’s canonization has brought fresh attention to her critics who malign her for the politicians she knew, for how she handled the enourmous sums of money she raised, and for the quality of care she offered those she served.

Christopher Hitchens claimed she was “less interested in helping the poor than in using them . . . to fuel the expansion of her fundamentalist Roman Catholic beliefs.”

A group of Canadian academics criticized her in their study for “her rather dubious way of caring for the sick, her questionable political contacts . . . and her overly dogmatic views regarding abortion, contraception, and divorce.”

Now comes Bill Donohue, the indefatigable President of the Catholic League, who is fighting back.

In this carefully researched book, Donohue pulls the curtain back on Mother Teresa’s critics, showing that virtually all of them shared an abiding disdain for Catholicism.

Her critics were militant atheists, Donohue explains, and strongly embraced socialism, viewing Mother Teresa’s work as a deterrent to government-controlled programs.

In these pages, Donohue responds point-by-point to all of her critics claims, and proves that their attacks on her are motivated almost entirely by her conviction that life begins in the womb.

Don’t let Mother Teresa’s critics win. Read this book, and be armed with all the evidence you need to put to rest those cruel myths that are being promoted by those who wish to destroy the legacy of one of the Church’s most admired saints.

This work analyzes how the three key elements of a democratic society—freedom, equality, and fraternity—have been misconstrued by intellectuals and policy makers who do not respect the limitations of the human condition. Their lack of common sense has resulted in social and cultural problems rather than solutions to them. By contrast, the social teachings of the Catholic Church mesh nicely with the demands of human nature, and as such they offer the right remedy to our cultural crisis.

Freedom defined as radical individualism has eclipsed the understanding that real rights are tethered to responsibilities. Equality defined as radical egalitarianism yields little in the way of equality and much in the way of state-sponsored social discord. And fraternity without the foundation of familial bonds and religious communities leaves people isolated and disoriented.

Catholic teaching offers much wisdom to remedy our insufficient understanding of the elements needed for a free and flourishing society. Its common sense is greatly needed to help modern Americans rediscover the true meaning of their highest ideals.

This booklet was written to counter the ACLU propaganda that will accompany its centenary in January 2020, aided and abetted by a compliant media.

This publication represents some of the most important findings in Donohue’s two books on the ACLU, as well as much updated material. It is also well documented, detailing 92 sources.

This work unpacks the history and root causes of the clergy sex abuse scandals in the United States. Building on decades of data and research, author Bill Donohue, who holds a doctorate in sociology, tells the story from a fresh angle and calls us to rethink our assumptions about the Church’s handling of these horrific abuses.

The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse challenges many myths about the scandals, demonstrating that the abuse of minors is a problem that haunts virtually every institution—religious and secular—where adults interact with young people. The work also provides compelling evidence of the great progress that the Church has made in preventing abuse, contrary to public perceptions. Indeed, the media, Hollywood, and activist lawyers have poisoned the public mind with tales of old cases, giving the impression that nothing has changed.

Donohue investigates at length the central role that homosexuality played in the scandal. While homosexuality does not cause sexual abuse, the prevalence of emotional and sexual immaturity among homosexual clergy explains why they committed most of the molestation. Indeed, all of the educational institutions of the Catholic Church, including the seminaries, have been affected by the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s, and this book explores the pernicious effects of dissent from Catholic sexual morality.

In this monumental book by one of the Church’s greatest contemporary defenders, Bill Donohue explains how the ruling class is systematically undermining the virtues that have built Western civilization and is producing a “moral holocaust” that the traditional family cannot withstand.

These radical elites have rejected the idea of personal sin and replaced it with social injustice. They’ve rejected traditional values and replaced them with dangerously misguided individualism that is misusing our liberties to destroy freedom as we’ve known it.

In his incomparable, no-hold barred style, Donohue offers a commonsense solution to restoring the virtues in the workplace and defending universal morality.

In this incisive work, Bill Donohue pulls no punches as he contends that our moral crisis is a reflection of two competing visions of morality — one religious and the other secular. The former is grounded in our Judeo-Christian tradition, the latter in radical notions of liberty and equality that are tearing us asunder.

Donohue explains how the religious vision acknowledges belief in God, truth, human nature, natural law, moral absolutes, and Original Sin. It understands the limits of the human condition and thus rejects the notion that human perfectibility can be realized on earth. The secular vision believes none of this, and its adherents are bent on destroying the last vestiges of our religious heritage.

Weaving together examples from the earliest centuries to the Enlightenment to modern times, Donohue seamlessly lays out how to restore our moral code so that the mainstreaming of madness is terminated and rolled back.