Ken Briggs has reported on religion for Newsday and The New York Times, contributed articles to a variety of publications, written five books and taught for 18 years as an adjunct professor at Lehigh University and Lafayette College. He lives in Indiana and continues to be a freelance writer.
We're undergoing a website migration. Please pardon any intermittent outages.
Show full bio ↓
Column
Wanna bet? At the root of the country's problems is gambling's self-seeking mindset
Roundtable: Decades ago, gambling was mostly occasional. Now it's a wrap-around, consuming pursuit for a much greater audience, a force that helps instill a strain of individualism without empathy.
Column
Pope Francis is the guardian angel of the faithful's ambivalence
Roundtable: Francis is a creative presence who responds to people with mixed loyalties, with priorities that don't quite fit together, and can project support for all those needing to see their ambivalence and accept it.
Column
What it might mean to really listen to Trump voters
Roundtable: For those who care about the minds and hearts of Trump backers or look to change their votes, there are likely larger, more pervasive issues of wounded self-respect in the shadows.
Column
Shifting the public opinion on abortion requires more than tired, unsuccessful arguments
Roundtable: The recent University of Notre Dame survey about abortion implies that their subjects' discomfort with abortion might be a wedge issue. But this looks like a refill of a failed cure.
