Upcoming Conversation Focuses on Civil Discourse and Disagreement in Politics and at Church

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-709-5959
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Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning, Baylor Law School, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Crane Scholars Program, Office of the Provost and Student Life have joined together for “Things We Don't Talk about at Dinner: Civil Discourse and Disagreement in Politics and at Church,” a conversation event at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in Kayser Auditorium with legal scholar John Inazu and Anglican priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren.

Inazu, The Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Learning to Disagree and Confident Pluralism, will join Rev. Harrison Warren, the award-winning author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night, for an evening of candid, hopeful conversation about navigating hard topics with conviction and empathy. The conversation also will offer practical wisdom for use at church, in public life and even at the dinner table.

Civil discourse is one of the four imperatives interwoven within the Baylor in Deeds strategic plan to address a world of increasing discord and conflict. The IFL conversation is an opportunity to bring together the campus community 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.”

“Tish Harrison Warren and John Inazu are two of the leading national voices on civil discourse,” said Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, J.D., Ph.D., director of Baylor’s Institute for Faith and Learning (IFL). “We are thrilled to bring them on campus to share their wisdom with the Baylor campus community. At IFL, we are excited to be joining our campus partners in working together towards Baylor in Deed’s insight that top-tier Christian education includes formation in civil discourse.”

The conversation unites several of Baylor’s prominent lecture series, including IFL’s Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics, Baylor Law’s W. R. White Lecture and Student Life’s Leadership Speaker Series.

For more information about the event, visit the Institute for Faith and Learning website.

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 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.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR FAITH AND LEARNING

Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning was founded in 1997 to assist the University in achieving its mission of integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment, and its goal of becoming a university of the first rank committed to its Baptist and Christian heritage. Since its founding, the Institute has developed several major programs in support of this mission, cultivating high-quality research, sponsoring conferences, mentoring students and encouraging teaching faithful to the Christian intellectual tradition.