First Things

First Things is an American magazine about religion and public life, founded in 1990 by Richard John Neuhaus. It is published in New York by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. Its contributors come from various Christian and Jewish traditions; the tone is predominantly conservative. A comparable opinion platform from Australia, available only as an archive since March 2025, is MercatorNet.

What you will find

The magazine publishes long-form essays, book reviews, and short web articles on theology, philosophy, politics, law, and culture. On gender, it mainly publishes commentary on the worldview underlying the debate, parental rights, medical ethics, and the relationship between religious freedom and antidiscrimination law. A recent example of such a clash is the settlement following the dismissal of a healthcare worker with a conscientious objection to gender-affirming care.

Why it is on this list

First Things is an opinion magazine and does not report the news or conduct original research. It is useful for those who want to read religiously conservative arguments in their most carefully considered form. Those looking for facts about treatment or statistics are better served by Medicine and Science and Debate.

History and editorial staff

The first issue appeared in March 1990. Neuhaus was a Lutheran pastor at the time and converted to the Catholic Church later that year. He remained editor-in-chief until 2009. Day-to-day editorial management was handled by James Nuechterlein from 1990 to 2004 and by Joseph Bottum from 2005 to 2010. R. R. Reno has been editor since 2011. The magazine is published ten times a year and, according to its own advertising page, has more than 27,000 subscribers. Its stated aim is to promote a public philosophy informed by religion, with an emphasis on dialogue between Christians and Jews and among the churches themselves.

Controversies

In 1996, the magazine published the symposium The End of Democracy?, responding to the Supreme Court's ruling in Romer v. Evans. One contribution by Charles Colson considered whether Christians could justify resisting the state. Editorial board members Gertrude Himmelfarb and Walter Berns subsequently resigned from the board. In 2018, the magazine published a review by the Dominican friar Romanus Cessario, who interpreted the forced abduction and Catholic upbringing of Edgardo Mortara as divine providence. Catholic commentator Michael Sean Winters called the piece morally repugnant.

How to weigh this source

The commentary on gender starts from a religious view of humanity and, from there, reaches conclusions about legislation and healthcare. That starting point is not concealed. More information is available at gender and religion. Empirical claims in the essays are rarely central and should be checked elsewhere. Related sources on this list include the Ethics and Public Policy Center, which named a fellowship after Neuhaus, and Public Discourse.