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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 freedom Support 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

Most Americans either do not understand legislative politics, or if they do, they are repulsed by the process.  But Congress is the most important institution in the American government because without it, democracy is impossible. Working in Congress gives you the opportunity to do good for thousands, perhaps millions of people. Where else in the world can you do that, so early in your career? Mark Strand, former President of the Congressional Institute and current member of the Faith and Law Board of Directors joined us for a lecture titled “Politics and Sausage Making” about glorifying God through work on Capitol Hill.  Support the show

In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit. He spent 34 years wrongfully imprisoned. Now, Ben has teamed up with award-winning journalist Barbara Bradley Hagerty to share his story – and larger story about the flaws in the legal system that allow mistakes to occur, and how some states are trying to fix them. Conversation was moderated by Scott Peyton, director of government affairs at Prison Fellowship. Support the show

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, joined us to discuss what it was that gave the American republic a freedom like no other – which needs to be recovered today. Support the show

People with disabilities are created in the image of God, imbued with the same intrinsic value and bestowed the unalienable rights declared in our  nation’s founding document. However, the history of disability policy and social norms have not always mirrored this foundational truth.  Drawing from her experience, surviving a life threatening and rare spinal cord tumor that left her as a quadriplegic and her decades working on Capitol Hill, Rachel Barkley director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Able Americans program, first discussed what the Bible says about people with disabilities, then in light of this, how we should approach disability policy. Support the show

Is the purpose of religious liberty to end religious oppression or is it to change, perhaps even eradicate, religion as it has been known across history? That question has been at the heart of America’s debates about religious liberty since the founding era and it still plagues us today. Dr. Richard Samuelson, Associate Professor of Government at Hillsdale College, presented a study of this founding era debate to help us understand this important tension that has persisted across American history. Support the show

In his 1962 book, Propaganda, Jacques Ellul outlines three conditions for propaganda’s success. Bombard people with excessive information so they will forget, always have “breaking news” so they do not reflect or think critically, and have no North Star or standard to measure deviation. As Christians we are called to remember, called to think, and called to follow our certain and firm North Star. Dr. Stephen J. Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, discussed how a Christian worldview speaks to these conditions and encourages us to both speak and live truthfully in difficult times. Support the show

During a time when political conversations are marked by deep division, polarization, and challenging moral questions, what resources do evangelicals have to think and act critically, coherently, and theologically about public life? In their new book, Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics, political theorists Dr. Jesse Covington of Westmont College, Dr Bryan T. McGraw of Wheaton College, and Dr. Micah Watson of Calvin College lay out an evangelical theory of the natural law and show how it can be employed within the context of our pluralist democratic order. Support the show