Salt and Light: Baylor Focuses Year-long Series of Events on Civil Discourse

October 20, 2024
Sunlight comes through the arches of the Old Main building on the Baylor campus.

Sunlight streams through the arches of Old Main on the Baylor campus. (Matthew Minard/Baylor University)

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Whether in politics, the church, on campus or within families, there is a need for civil discourse. While individuals may not always agree with one another, civil discourse requires mutual respect and objectivity without hostility – demonstrating an appreciation for the experiences of others.

In January, against this backdrop – and with a call to be salt of the earth and light of the world at the center – Baylor University launched a year-long series of campus-wide conversations, trainings and presentations focused on civil dialogue, an important topic as Baylor strives to be a marketplace of ideas and extend the love of Christ toward others. All events are posted on the Baylor Civil Discourse series website.

Jan. 22, 2024 - Baylor Conversation Series: A Panel Discussion on Politics and Faith 

Ahead of another highly anticipated general election season, Baylor University kicked off a year-long series focusing on civil discourse as President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., moderated a panel discussion on politics and faith with three noted scholars, theologians and authors:

  • Curtis Chang, an author, Executive Director of Redeeming Babel and consulting professor at Duke Divinity School; 
  • Justin Giboney, an attorney, political strategist and president of the AND Campaign; and 
  • Kaitlyn Schiess, an author, co-host of the Holy Post podcast and a theology doctoral student.

The post-conversation Q&A was moderated by Matthew Lee Anderson, D.Phil., assistant professor in the Honors Program at Baylor’s Honors College and associate director of Baylor in Washington. The panel discussion is available for on-demand viewing on the Baylor Conversation Series website.

Three panelists on a stage discuss politics and faith with Baylor President Linda Livingstone
The Baylor Conversation Series Panel Discussion on Politics and Faith featured special guests Kaitlyn Schiess, Curtis Chang and Justin Giboney. (Robert Rogers/Baylor University)
April 24, 2024 - Bridgebuilding Fellows Demonstrate Model Bridging Divides in Difficult Conversations

Continuing Baylor University’s year-long focus on civil discourse, 31 Baylor students – newly commissioned as the inaugural cohort of “Bridgebuilding Fellows” – joined together April 23 at the Hurd Welcome Center for a university-wide demonstration of a model for bridging these divides by cultivating curiosity, deep listening and story sharing. The student Bridgebuilding Fellows completed the eight-week Bridging the Gap program, a grant-funded curriculum through Interfaith America that equips students and educators with the skills and knowledge needed to create positive connections in a polarized world. 

Read more about the student Bridgebuilding Fellows program, which creates and sustains a culture shift toward bridging so that when tension arises, the campus community can lean toward each other and toward difference to understand it and each other.

Baylor student Bridgebuilding Fellows gather at tables to demonstrate listening exercises from the Bridging the Gap curriculum to create positive connections across divides.
In April, Baylor students trained as Bridgebuilding Fellows demonstrated listening exercises that bridged the gap and created positive connections across differences. (Mesha Mittanasala/Baylor Lariat)
July 22, 2024 - iEngage Summer Civics Institute Emphasizes Active, Engaged Citizenship
Students raise their hands as they build consensus on topics

Nearly 80 rising middle school students attended Baylor University’s nationally recognized iEngage Summer Civics Institute July 22-26. Founded in 2013, Baylor’s iEngage Summer Civics Institute is led by co-cofounder and School of Education faculty member Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., and co-director and associate professor Kevin Magill, Ph.D. iEngage focuses on the structure of government and what it means to be an active and engaged citizen. It also focuses on civil discourse and engagement as a means to build consensus. Students divided into groups, and each student advocated for the community issue that they would like the group to address. Then the group worked together to come to a consensus.

Aug. 9, 2024 - Baylor Connections: Leslie Hahner and Kevin Villegas

A contentious election season highlights the need for citizens who can engage with respect and understanding amidst disagreement. As a Christian university, Baylor seeks to both model civil discourse and train students to do the same. 

Leslie Hahner, Ph.D., professor of communication, and Kevin Villegas, Ed.D., dean of Intercultural Engagement, work with students as they navigate these complexities. In this Baylor Connections, they share those experiences, along with practical insights to encourage discourse commensurate to the call to love our neighbor.

Aug. 15-16, 2024 - Faculty Bridgebuilding Fellows Support Healthy Civil Discourse Initiatives
Bridge over Waco Creek to the Baylor Sciences Building

With the theme “Facilitating Civil Discourse in the Classroom,” 12 Baylor University faculty members joined together as the first faculty cohort of Bridgebuilding Fellows. On Aug. 15-16, the faculty Bridgebuilding Fellows completed training using the Bridging the Gap (BTG) curriculum, which equips them to serve as role models and help the campus community make positive connections with one another across deep divides.

Read more about Bridgebuilding Fellows, who equips students and other to develop the necessary skills to effectively lead and serve in complex, diverse – and sometimes polarized – environments.

Sept. 4, 2024 - The J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies Fall 2024 Lecture 
Flyer for lecture by journalist and author Tim Alberta on "The Crisis of American Christianity"

In the McLean Foyer of Meditation in Baylor’s Armstrong Browning Library, the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies welcomed Tim Alberta, an award-winning journalist and political correspondent for The Atlantic who spoke on “The Crisis of American Christianity.” Alberta’s American Carnage debuted at the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list. His latest book is The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism.

Sept. 4, 2024 - Provost Honors Faculty Members as 2024-2025 Baylor Fellows
10 Baylor professors named Baylor Fellows for their excellence in teaching re shown

Ten Baylor University faculty members were selected by Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., to serve as 2024-2025 Baylor Fellows for their excellence in teaching and desire to advance Baylor’s commitment to transformational education. Baylor’s Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL) launched the fellowship program in 2011 to recognize outstanding teachers across the disciplines and provide them the opportunity to implement new teaching approaches in Baylor courses. This year’s theme is “Facilitating Civil Discourse in the Classroom.”

Baylor Fellows choose how to implement the theme in their teaching. Each Fellow identifies one course as an “incubator” or “lab” classroom, then develops activities and assignments to address the theme. In accord with the best practices of evidence-based scholarship in teaching and learning, the Fellows also develop means to assess their projects.

Sept. 10, 2024 - Baylor Hosts David Brooks 

Baylor’s civil discourse series featured a day-long slate of activities with New York Times best-selling author, columnist and commentator David Brooks, who met with students, faculty and staff throughout the day about his latest book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. His evening keynote lecture in Waco Hall – along with a Q&A moderated by President Livingstone – is available on-demand for a limited time for those with a university email address. 

New York Times columnist David Brooks on stage with Baylor President Linda Livingstone
New York Times columnist David Brooks joined President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., as part of the first fall event in the Baylor Conversation Series on civil discourse. (Robert Rogers/Baylor University)

Brooks’ visit was one of several initiatives designed to foster civility during challenging times. It is also an example of how civil discourse might be interwoven into Baylor’s new strategic plan – Baylor in Deeds – where civil discourse is one of four imperatives. Baylor has committed to “intentionally design opportunities that prepare our students – and the entire Baylor Family – to learn from people whose life experiences and ideas are different from their own, work across difference, lead through conflict and build bridges of understanding that help society flourish.”

Sept. 17, 2024 - Constitution Day Lecture: Derek Muller

The Office of the Provost at Baylor University welcomed Derek Muller, J.D., professor of law at the University of Notre Dame School of Law, who gave this year's Constitution Day Lecture on "Elections and Our Constitution's Democracy" in the Hurd Welcome Center Ballroom on the Baylor campus.

Sept. 17, 2024 - Baylor 101: Campus Preparedness and Communication Strategy
Baylor 101 Campus Preparedness and Communication

The first Baylor 101 webinar of the academic year offered a glimpse into institutional preparation and communication for times of crisis, including campus policies and procedures related to expressive activities, invited speakers and student and faculty engagement, and explained how communications around such activities are managed internally and externally. The conversation featured:

  • Jason Cook, vice president for marketing and communications and chief marketing officer;
  • Robyn Driskell, Ph.D., vice president and chief compliance and risk officer; and 
  • Kevin P. Jackson, Ph.D., vice president for student life. 

All Baylor 101 webinars are available for on-demand viewing.

Sept. 18, 2024 - Strangers No Longer: The Politics and Promises of Religious Hospitality in Latino America | Dr. Sergio González

During Hispanic Heritage Month, The Jackson Chair welcomed Sergio González, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Marquette University and historian of 20th-century U.S. migration, labor and religion, for a lecture on Strangers No Longer: The Politics and Promises of Religious Hospitality in the Latino American Heartland. Speaking in the Treasure Room at Armstrong Browning Library, González discussed how hospitality practices grounded in religious belief have long exercised a profound influence on Midwestern Latino communities.

Oct. 2, 2024 - Passport to Media Literacy Welcomes Travelers on Mis/Disinformation Journey
Passport to Media Literacy billboard that includes passport stamps

Baylor Libraries hosted Passport to Media Literacy, an interactive media literacy experience Oct. 2, in the Garden Level Learning Commons of Moody Memorial Library, sponsored by local NPR affiliate KWBU-FM, Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media and the Baylor Libraries. Guided by subject experts, Passport to Media Literacy experience an interactive journey into better media literacy.

Oct. 3, 2024 - Democracy Across the Americas Series: Drs. Bustamante, Kloppe-Santamaría, & Casarões

During Hispanic Heritage Month, The Jackson Chair welcomed Dr. Michael Bustamante, Dr. Gema Kloppe-Santamaría and Dr. Guilherme Casarões as part of a Democracy Across the Americas speaker series event in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. The Democracy Across the Americas speaker series brings together scholars, policy makers and nonprofit and religious leaders to discuss the rising challenges to democracy across the Americas from different disciplinary perspectives. The inaugural event featured three distinguished scholars on politics and culture in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil who examined the impact of political violence and ideological and religious extremism on these countries’ democratic institutions.

Oct. 4, 2024 - Baylor Connections: Thomas Hibbs
the J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus in the Honors College at Baylor University

In today's political environment, numerous factors serve as obstacles to civil discourse and healthy approaches to political consumption. Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D., The J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus in the Honors College at Baylor, has long studied the intersection of politics and philosophy and recently wrote the column “A Guide to Political Detox” in The Dallas Morning News. In this Baylor Connections, he unpacks concepts and actionable suggestions to help listeners examine their own relationship to political news and discourse.

Oct. 15, 2024 - Political Desaturation: How to Thrive Before, During, and After the 2024 Election
Baylor in Washington event on Political Desaturation: How to Thrive Before, During, and After the 2024 Election

Baylor in Washington hosted a virtual panel discussion - Political Desaturation: How to Thrive Before, During, and After the 2024 Election - which focused on the problem of “hyper-politicization.” The discussion is available on demand on the Baylor in Washington website.

David Corey, Ph.D., professor of political philosophy in the Honors College, moderated this virtual discussion with panelists Robert B. Talisse, Ph.D., W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and host of the podcast Why We Argue.; Curt Thompson, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist, author, speaker and co-host of The Being Known Podcast; and Elizabeth Oldfield, host of Sacred podcast and former director and now senior fellow of the think tank Theos. Panelists explained hyper-politicization from social, psychological and theological perspectives while offering concrete strategies for “desaturation.” 

Oct. 16, 2024 - “Must Politics Be War? A Christian View” A Conversation with Curtis Chang and Rev. Aaron Zimmerman
Panel Discussion Must Politics Be War? A Christian View
Courtesy of The Baylor Lariat

How should Christians view politics in our highly polarized political society? What responsibilities do we have, and how can embracing civil discourse help to break through the divides? This in-person discussion - featuring guests Curtis Chang, founder of Redeeming Babel and Rev. Aaron Zimmerman of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Waco - was hosted by Intercultural Engagement in the Alexander Reading Room and moderated by Baylor's Dr. David Corey with an introduction by Dr. Kevin Villegas. The Baylor Lariat reported on this discussion about the search for the intersection of Christian love and politics.

Oct. 17, 2024 - Discovering Christian civility in the midst of political hostility
Baylor professors (top row) Dr. Rebecca Flavin and Dr. Leslie Hahner and (bottom row) Dr. Elise Edwards and Dr. Matthew Lee Anderson took part in a virtual panel discussion about Christian civility in the midst of political hostility

With today’s politics rife with personal attacks and a deluge of information, it has become increasingly difficult for some Christians to understand how or where they belong, leading many to disengage rather than dig in. Are they right? Is it better to opt out than to debate it out? 

In a Zoom webinar, Baylor University faculty Matthew Lee Anderson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Ethics and Theology; Elise Edwards, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religion; Rebecca Flavin, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer of Political Science; and Leslie Hahner, Ph.D., Professor of Communication – representing a range of expertise in Christian ethics, political science, contemporary culture and rhetoric – discussed the value of Christian civility in an era of political hostility. The discussion is available for viewing on demand on the Baylor 101 website. The Baylor Lariat also reported on the faculty event dedicated to finding a middle ground in the divisiveness of American politics and Christianity. 

Oct. 17-19, 2024 - Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture 2024: Renewing and Reimagining Institutions for the Common Good
On Oct. 17-19, Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning will host the 2024 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, wh

Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning hosted the 2024 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, which focused on the theme Renewing and Reimagining Institutions for the Common Good

The symposium featured more than 240 leading national and international scholars and practitioners, including a wide range of participants from varied denominations, universities and civic institutions, who explored a wide range of academic and social topics while considering the challenges and opportunities ahead for varied institutions to restore trust and be better equipped to serve their purposes. The symposium also tied into Baylor’s year-long focus on civil discourse, an important topic as Baylor strives to be a marketplace of ideas and extend the love of Christ toward others.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu