Christianity and Freedom: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

From Cairo and Damascus to Tehran and Beijing, religious freedom is under siege. Ironically, it is Christianity—a faith that contributed decisively to the rise of religious liberty—that now finds itself increasingly persecuted around the world.

In view of this global crisis, Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project hosted a two-day conference in Rome highlighting Christianity’s contributions to the understanding and practice of freedom for all people. The conference presented findings from a two-year study by dozens of scholars concerning Christianity’s contributions to freedom.

This event was co-sponsored by Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and made possible by a generous grant from the Historical Society's Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs Program.

related | Conference Program (Il programma della conferenza [in italiano])
related | Press Release
related | Presentation and research summaries

SCHEDULE

Friday, December 13

Welcoming Remarks: "Christians and Religious Freedom" | Thomas Farr, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti

The Terrible Facts: What is Happening to the World’s Christians? | Todd Johnson, Paul Marshall, Kirsten Powers, Mariz Tadros

The First Thousand Years: Christianity’s Early Relationship to Freedom (as Persecuted and as Persecutor) | Elizabeth DePalma Digeser, Ian Christopher Levy, John Rist, Timothy Samuel Shah, Robert Louis Wilken

Christian Views on Dignity, Slavery, Proselytism, and Democracy | Kyle Harper, William Inboden, Donald Miller, Daniel Philpott, Robert Woodberry

Religious Freedom in the Lion’s Den? | Duane Alexander Miller, Anthony O’Mahony, Elizabeth Prodromou, Philip Sumpter, Mariz Tadros

Keynote Address | Rémi Brague

Saturday, December 14

Opening Address | Ken Starr

Christians Among the Most Vulnerable: Empowering Women and the Poor in Developing Societies | Richard Burgess, Allen Hertzke, Daniel McCain, Rebecca Shah, Sara Singha

Christianity and Freedom in Asia | Chad Bauman, Robert Hefner, James Ponniah, Reg Reimer, Marthen Tahun, Fenggang Yang

Would Europe or America Exist Without Christianity? | Matthew Franck, David Little, Roger Trigg, John Witte

A Conversation on Christianity and Freedom in the Future of the West | John Allen, Remi Brague, Matthew Franck, David Novak, Roger Trigg

Keynote Address | Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako