PHILOSOPHY AND FAITH FOR THE COMMON GOOD


There is almost no human action…that does not arise from a very general idea that men have conceived of God, of his relations with the human race, of the nature of their souls, and of their duties toward those like them. One cannot keep these ideas from being the common source from which all the rest flow.

-Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume II (1840)

The John Adams Center for the Study of Faith, Philosophy and Public Affairs fosters understanding of the critical importance of politics and political philosophy in shaping a moral and cultural environment proper to the true flourishing of families and of individuals and friendly to religious freedom.The Center thus resists the false separation of moral and religious convictions from law and policy and contributes to the reasoned articulation of traditional and religious insights into the good of moral self-government. This moral liberty is essential to the well-being of individuals, families, and political communities.

PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

The John Adams Center uses the following programs and projects to accomplish the objectives set forth above:

  1. Regular conferences featuring premier philosophic, religious and legal thinkers that explore moral and religious dimensions of politics and policy
  2. Summer seminars that provide promising students the intellectual background and critical tools to deal confidently with ideological distortions of moral and political principles.
  3. Print and internet publications, including an active blog, that show how core assumptions about politics, morality and freedom frame our understanding of public issues, encourage well-grounded discussion of current issues, and alert readers to specious ideological arguments prevalent in various media.