What We Believe
Our Republic is a project of the Henry Dearborn Liberty Network (HDLN). Our Republic and HDLN do not have a strict set of detailed ideological or policy positions that all of its staff or members must believe, but it does hold fast to a set of important principles that Our Republic’s leaders have determined are essential for the advancement of human rights.
Second, Our Republic and HDLN are strong defenders of religious freedom. Government shouldn’t involve itself in the affairs of churches, regardless of the religion, but this doesn’t mean government should ban religious expression in public arenas, either. All people have a right to worship God (or not to worship God) in whatever way they choose, so long as they don’t violate the rights of others in the process.
Third, Our Republic and HDLN believe that freedom without a virtuous society inevitably leads to tyranny. A free people must always strive to be a “good” people, and although “good” may not be easy to define, it is essential people continue exploring morality and absolute truths about “good” and “evil”—both because it is a core part of the human experience and also because liberty cannot survive in the long run in a nation that is not virtuous. At Our Republic, we hold to the belief that Judeo-Christian principles of morality are true, and thus a truly virtuous society will embrace them.
Fourth, Our Republic and HDLN support, whenever possible, free, uncorrupted markets. There are two reasons we take this position: (1) free markets have been repeatedly shown to produce healthier, happier, safer, and more prosperous societies than those that are governed by bureaucrats, despots, kings, or other forms of tyranny; (2) when government consistently inserts itself into markets, the result inevitably ends up being corruption and suffering. However, in cases where government is already heavily involved in a market, Our Republic and HDLN believe it is vital that regulations protect the rights of individuals above all others.
Fifth, although we take the position that U.S. foreign policy should be restrained — that is, the U.S. government should only interfere in foreign wars and other entanglements when absolutely necessary — our organization’s leaders believe that all virtuous people should, whenever possible, seek to responsibly serve others, irrespective of national borders. This is why we take the view that Americans should prioritize charitable aid to refugees, support efforts to end sex trafficking and child slavery, and demand that the U.S. economy limit its engagement with tyrannical regimes around the world.
With these principles firmly established, as it is often said in many churches throughout the world, Our Republic and HDLN embrace the following motto — “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
