Paul Ryan last night accepted the Republican nomination for vice-president. (
Washington Post.) Earlier this month, the
Wall Street Journal reported on the impact of Ryan's Catholic religious faith on his political and policy views:
... Ryan is a practicing Catholic who attends church regularly, takes part in a weekly prayer group on Capitol Hill and flies home on Thursday nights so he can take his children to their Catholic school the next morning. And when he debates Vice President Joe Biden this fall, each party will be represented by a practicing Catholic.
But Catholicism also grounds his thinking about politics and the basic relationship between the individual and the state. He has invoked a principle called "subsidiarity" in justifying his view that people are more apt to flourish under government that is limited in its size and reach. And he spoke out amid the church leadership's fight with the Obama administration over its mandate that employers, including Catholic institutions, be required to provide contraception coverage in their insurance plans.
Mr. Ryan's use of Catholic teachings has drawn criticism by others in the church who believe he is selectively interpreting religious doctrine to make a case for market capitalism.
