Democracy Conference Schedule

This panel explores the importance of Christian formation in a time of anxiety about democracy, deep polarization, and institutional distrust. The conversation will feature Stephanie Summers of the Center for Public Justice, Michael Wear of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, and Susan Gates of Faith and Law reflecting on the practices, virtues, and communities needed to sustain faithful public leadership today. Panelists will discuss the formative challenges facing Christians in public life and the kinds of habits, relationships, and institutional support that help cultivate leaders capable of principled, constructive civic engagement across difference.  
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Stephanie Summers (Center for Public Justice)
Michael Wear (Center for Christianity and Public Life)
Susan Gates (Faith and Law)

Tracy McKenzie (Wheaton College)
"The Founders and the Future of American Democracy”

C. S. Lewis once observed that there are only two main reasons to believe in democracy. One is because you have confidence in human nature. The other is because you don’t. Listening carefully to the Framers of the Constitution and drawing substantively from Christian theology, I suggest that Americans have long embraced democracy for the wrong reason, and that this false foundation contributes significantly to the polarization and dysfunction of U.S. democracy today.
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Response: Michael Hammond (Gordon College)