John Inazu:
Civility in
the
Public Square

Christian faith demands a high view of human beings. If Christians are indeed called to compassionately steward our respective polities, then we are also called to a kind of civic engagement that wisely assesses our state of affairs with the type of nuance that transcends a liberal/conservative divide.Our public discourse, then, requires conversation over obstruction, vulnerability over combativeness, diversity, sacrifice and humility. In short, our civic lives require civic love. 

John Inazu is a Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. He teaches courses in criminal law, law and religion, and the First Amendment. His scholarship focuses on the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and related issues of political and legal theory. John is the author of Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving through Deep Difference. He has written broadly for publications including USA Today, CNN,The Hedgehog Review, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. BSE and JD from Duke and PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill.

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