Faith and Law

Many Christians talk earnestly about ‘the Christian roots of America,’ but never say what they were. Equally the MAGA movement aims to ‘make America great again,’ but never stops to say what made America great in first place.Dr. Os Guinness, foreign admirer of the US, will join us for a continuation of his Friday Forum from June 13, 2025 “2026: Recovering What Made America Great in the First Place,” and further dive into what it was that gave the American republic a freedom like no other – which needs to be recovered today.Support the show

What is the significance of the Christian confession that God has made each person with a sense of the divine? Dr. Gray Sutanto, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Reformed Theological Seminary, joined us to discuss how the awareness of God arises in the human person, and its implication on apologetics as well as public discourse.Support the show

American political life is increasingly fractured by generational conflict, growing distrust of institutions, and a willingness across the spectrum to exercise power arbitrarily. From Congress to town halls, an older generation seeks to preserve the past while a younger movement pursues change even at the cost of community bonds. This shift raises urgent questions about democracy, the rule of law, and the moral health of our political life.Jake Meador, Editor in Chief of Mere Orthodoxy, joined us to explore how a renewed commitment to human dignity and the common good can provide hope and a unifying path forward.Support the show

Common ground is hard to find in today’s politics. In a society teeming with irreconcilable political perspectives, many people have grown frustrated under a system of government that constantly demands compromise. More and more on both the right and the left have come to blame the Constitution for the resulting discord. But the Constitution is not the problem we face; it is the solution.Yuval Levin, author of American Covenant and Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at AEI, joined us to discuss Congress’s central role in the minds of the founders, and in the solutions to the political crises and challenges of the current age.Support the show

Dr. Joseph Prud'Homme, Burton Family Chair in Religion, Politics, and Culture, and the director of the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture at Washington College, MD, joined us to discuss the classical liberal tradition. Properly understood, classical liberalism has been the foundation of the American Republic since its founding. The core tenets of this tradition include its commitment both to personal liberty and moral responsibility; its commitment to the rule of law and to limited government; its support for free markets and free enterprise, coupled with a confined but crucially important role for government in aiding those in need; and its support for the freedom of churches and religious associations to spread the Gospel and to leaven society with the spirit of Christian truth.Support the show

Public policy making wrestles with competing visions of what it means to be human and of how we can live well individually and in community. In a lecture titled "The Public Policy Calling", Dr. Jennifer Patterson, Lecturer in Public Theology and Director of the Institute for Theology and Public Life at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington DC discussed how christians in public policy are called to bring clarity to these questions. Support the show

In a culture that prizes outrage over reconciliation, forgiveness is increasingly seen as weakness--an outdated concept that fails to take harm seriously. But what if forgiveness is not about minimizing justice but about restoring hope?In a Friday Forum titled “The Power of Forgiveness in a Culture of Rage”, international author, speaker and theologian Amy Orr Ewing joined us to discuss the transformative power of this important biblical command. Support the show

In a recent interview, the campus free speech advocate, Greg Lukianoff, noted that Americans are waking up from the “Vegas Delusion” when it comes to what’s happening at the nation’s colleges and universities regarding the freedom to express one’s views. No more does “what happened on campus, stay on campus,” he opined, this aversion to free speech was happening in our council chambers and corporate boardrooms. Our First Amendment ensures important protections of speech, press, and religion. Often seen as separate freedoms, what if they were actually mutually supportive. In other words, what if our free speech was actually grounded in our faith? In this timely talk sponsored by Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, Prof. Robert George (Reagan Honorary Professor at Pepperdine, and McCormick Professor at Princeton) helped us connect these treasured freedoms to more faithfully engage with a polarized public square.Support the show

You're listening to the Faith and Law podcast. This spring, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, protecting the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children and to opt their young children out of one-sided gender ideology curriculum in public schools.Our panel of experts, in partnership with the Becket Fund For Religious Liberty, explored the Mahmoud decision and what it means for the future of parental rights and religious freedomSupport the show

The culture of freedom we enjoy in the United States is deeply shaped by religious minorities seeking to honor God in their beliefs and orders of worship from the colonial period to the present day. Marc Wheat, General Counsel for Advancing American Freedom,  introduced the historical and legal context for the First Amendment, thereby establishing the foundation for our Friday Forum titled “Religious Liberty and Parental Opt-Outs: School Choice at the Supreme Court” in partnership with Becket. Support the show