Under God: The Role Of Religion In A Divided Time

From Jon Meacham “January 6th is an inflection point. It’s either a step on the way to the abyss, or it is a call for citizens to engage and say that the work we are about [to form a more perfect union] is more important than the will or whim of… Read More

WATCH THIS EVENT HERE. In today’s polarized political climate, does  religion still have a role to play in American democracy? The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham will discuss the… Read More

Instead of being a force of division as argued by many pundits, religion can be a balm to a polarized country if we are willing to separate religious beliefs from their accompanying practices and ethics.  Besides anchoring faith, religious practices and ethics can embody and enliven a democratic community by showing us how to live in and between different politics of sacred value.      Read More

The place of faith in public life has been hotly debated as promising and perilous since our nation's founding, and the relationship of church and state remains contentious to this day—and for good reason. Too often, Christians end up shaping their faith to fit their politics rather than forming their politics to their faith. They seem to forget their calling is to be used by God in service of others rather than to use God to reach their own desires and ends. Faith can be a redemptive, healing presence in the public square—as it must be, if our nation is to flourish. Read More

Thank you for viewing the May 25 book launch of Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square, now available wherever books are sold.  Read or listen to an exclusive excerpt from Faithful Presence, selected by Gov. Haslam for the Vanderbilt Project… Read More

America’s political fractures reach beyond polling places and into the church pews.  Christian church leaders and laypeople should heed their faith’s fundamental creeds to foster “big tent” congregations where church members can practice what they preach by listening and modeling civil dialogue. Read More