The Witherspoon Institute

23 years of advancing scholarship, cultivating leadership, and promoting human flourishing. Thank you to all who have made the Witherspoon Institute's mission possible.

This first Alumni Spotlight features three stories from Witherspoon alumni. We’ve gathered a handful of short reflections that capture moments that stayed with them long after their time in our programs. Together, they offer a small but illustrative glimpse into the Witherspoon formation, which unfolds slowly through conversation, friendship, and sustained attention.

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Robert P. George, Witherspoon Institute's Herbert W. Vaughan Senior Fellow, will deliver the 2026 Frederic R. and Molly S. Kellogg Biennial Lecture in Jurisprudence on the topic, “Why Liberal Secularism Fails.”

For more than half a century, the dominant theories of justice in the West have all been built on liberal secularism, codified by thinkers like John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, and Jürgen Habermas. But does this view give a coherent vision for how people with deep moral and religious differences can live together in peace?

Prof. George examines the limits of liberal secularism and proposes an alternative rooted in human dignity, civil liberty, and republican self-government.

Link in first comment.