Debates, Conferences, Controversy!

For the past few weeks, Michael Novak¯a member of the First Things editorial board and a frequent contributor to the magazine¯has been blogging at the Encyclopedia Britannica site about religion, America, and the Founding Fathers. On these topics, you’ll probably remember his April 2003 First Things article, ” The Faith of the Founding ,” and his recent book (co-authored with daughter Jana) Washington’s God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of Our Country .

In the June/July issue of First Things (look for it in your mailboxes around the middle of May), Michael writes about the failures of modernity in “Remembering the Secular Age.” (Aren’t a subscriber? Subscribe by clicking here .) In the meantime, take a look at the exchanges he’s having with Brooke Allen and Joseph Ellis over at the Britannica site. Keep checking back, as he has a post on Pope Benedict XVI coming up soon.

Meanwhile, for readers in the New Jersey area, consider joining our friends at the James Madison Program at Princeton University for a two-day public conference: “The Free Society: Foundations and Challenges.” Covering topics such as the rule of law, the moral foundations of capitalism, security and liberty in an age of terror, and faith and reason according to Benedict XVI’s Regensburg lecture, the conference promises to be a First Things reader’s dream conference. You’ll also get a chance to hear the First Things contributors you enjoy reading so much. Among the many notables will be Hadley Arkes, Gerard V. Bradley, Peter Augustine Lawler, David Novak, and James R. Stoner. It’s all being organized by our editorial advisory board member Robert P. George.

Here’s a PDF with more information and the complete schedule.