New Contributor: Robert P. George – One of America’s Leading Christian and Legal Scholars

Praxis Circle welcomes our newest Contributor, Dr. Robert P. George. A faculty member at Princeton University since 1985, Dr. George currently serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudences and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. Please start with the playlist above to watch his full interview.

Robert grew up in West Virginia. While his parents never attended college, they emphasized the importance of education, leading Robert to earn a BA at Swarthmore College, a JD at Harvard Law School, an MTS at Harvard Divinity School, as well as a DPhil., BCL, DCL, and DLitt at Oxford University. He holds twenty-two honorary doctorates.

Dr. George describes experiencing an intellectual, political, and spiritual “Odyssey” at Swarthmore, where he began to question the status quo. Intellectually, he realized the importance of thinking for oneself and pursuing knowledge for its own sake—a foundational belief for his passion for freedom of thought and inquiry.

Politically, he scrutinized what he had received from his family of immigrant coal miners and eventually embraced the predominant views of our Christian American Founders. Spiritually, he considered Christianity’s religious and moral foundation given to him as a child, which solidified and strengthened as he continued to examine his beliefs.

Today, his worldview’s fundamental principle is the concept of “Imago Dei,” where every person has intrinsic value and dignity being made in the image of a loving God.

In addition to teaching at Princeton, Dr. George has advised U.S. and world leaders as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, presidential appointee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the President’s Council on Bioethics, a U.S. member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, and a Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Citizens Medal, the Honorific Medal for the Defense of Human Rights of the Republic of Poland, the Irving Kristol Award of the American Enterprise Institute, the Canterbury Medal of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the President’s Award for Distinguished teaching at Princeton—one of the university’s highest honors.

Robert is a prolific author of hundreds of books, essays, and articles. He is a sought-after voice on philosophy, religion, natural law, civil rights, constitutional issues, international affairs, and more.

In his interview with Praxis Circle, Robert addresses some key questions, among others: What is a person? What is dualism? What is natural law and the second-order principles? What is today’s most threatening challenge American religious traditions? How should Christians respond to secular culture? Why is protecting civil liberties important? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about America’s future?

Robert exudes a humble attitude, while offering brilliant answers. It’s an exceptional interview, and we are honored to have Dr. George as a Praxis Circle Contributor. We know you would benefit from a full review.

From Praxis Circle. You can find their full conversation with Prof. George here.