First Things

First Things (FT) is a journal aimed at "advanc[ing] a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society", focusing on theology, liturgy, history of religion, church history, culture, education, society, politics, literature, book reviews and poetry. FT is inter-religious, inter-denominational and ecumenical, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian, Jewish and Islamic critique of contemporary society. With a circulation of approximately 30,000 copies, it articulates Christian ecumenism, Christian–Jewish dialogue and erudite social and political conservatism.

FT is published by the New York–based Institute on Religion and Public Life (IRPL) as a monthly, except for bi-monthly issues covering June/July and August/September. Its founding editor, from 1990 to his death in 2009, was Richard John Neuhaus. Since 2011 R. R. Reno has served as editor.

Ross Douthat wrote that, through FT, Neuhaus demonstrated "that it was possible to be an intellectually fulfilled Christian". George Weigel, a long-time contributor and IRPL board member, wrote in Newsweek that, under the influence of Neuhaus First Things had "quickly became, under his leadership and inspiration, the most important vehicle for exploring the tangled web of religion and society in the English-speaking world."