Erasmus Lecture
The Erasmus Lecture is an annual public lecture series organized by the journal First Things and its publisher, the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The event is held in New York City and features leading figures in theology, philosophy, and public life who address topics at the intersection of religion, culture, and society.
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| Erasmus Lecture |
|---|
| The 2024 Erasmus Lecture |
| New York City |
| United States of America |
| Richard John Neuhaus |
| firstthings.com/erasmus-lectures/ |
The Erasmus Lecture is an annual public lecture series organized by the journal First Things and its publisher, the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The event is held in New York City and features leading figures in theology, philosophy, and public life who address topics at the intersection of religion, culture, and society.
The Erasmus Lecture was established in 1985 by Richard John Neuhaus, the founder of First Things and the Institute on Religion and Public Life. Neuhaus envisioned the lecture as a forum for exploring how religious and moral ideas shape public discourse and civic life.
Since its founding, the Erasmus Lecture has become the magazine's flagship public event and continues to be held annually in New York City. The series has featured prominent speakers from Christian, Jewish, and other intellectual traditions, addressing subjects related to faith, reason, and modern society.
Each year's Erasmus Lecture program typically includes:
- A poetry reading on the evening before the main lecture
- The public lecture itself
- A dinner for members of the First Things Editor's Circle and invited guests
- A scholarly colloquium or seminar the following day
The event is usually hosted at venues such as the Union League Club of New York.
A list of Erasmus Lecture speakers and the titles of their talks is provided below.
| Year | Lecturer | Title of Lecture |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bishop Erik Varden | In Praise of Translation |
| 2024 | Paul Kingsnorth | Against Christian Civilization |
| 2023 | Carl R. Trueman | The Desecration of Man |
| 2022 | Anthony Fisher | The West: Post- or Pre-Christian? |
| 2021 | Wilfred McClay | The Claims of Memory |
| 2020 | Meir Soloveitchik | Lincoln's Almost Chosen People |
| 2019 | N. T. Wright | Loving to Know |
| 2018 | Rémi Brague | God as a Gentleman |
| 2017 | Robert Barron | Evangelizing the Nones |
| 2016 | Russell D. Moore | Can the Religious Right Be Saved? |
| 2015 | Ross Douthat | A Crisis of Conservative Catholicism |
| 2014 | Charles J. Chaput | Strangers in a Strange Land |
| 2013 | Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks | On Creative Minorities |
| 2012 | Jean Bethke Elshtain | On Loyalty |
| 2011 | Gilbert Meilaender | A Complete Life |
| 2010 | J. H. H. Weiler | The Trial of Jesus |
| 2008 | Robert Louis Wilken | Christianity Face to Face with Islam |
| 2007 | Robert P. George | Law and Moral Purpose |
| 2006 | Philip Jenkins | Believing in the Global South |
| 2005 | Timothy George | Evangelicals and Others |
| 2004 | Timothy Cardinal Dolan | The Bishops in Council |
| 2003 | Dana Gioia | The Catholic Writer Today |
| 2002 | Stephen Barr | Retelling the Story of Science |
| 2001 | David Novak | Jews, Christians, and Civil Society |
| 2000 | George Weigel | Papacy and Power |
| 1999 | Charles Colson | Modernist Impasse, Christian Opportunity |
| 1998 | Oliver O'Donovan | Government as Judgement |
| 1997 | Clarence Thomas | (Title not listed) |
| 1996 | Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger | Liberty, Equality, Fraternity |
| 1995 | Midge Decter | A Jew in Anti-Christian America |
| 1994 | Wolfhart Pannenberg | Christianity and the West |
| 1992 | Mary Ann Glendon | Tradition and Creativity in Culture and Law |
| 1991 | Leon Kass | Man and Woman: An Old Story |
| 1990 | Robertson Davies | Literature and Moral Purposes |
| 1988 | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger | Biblical Interpretation in Crisis |
| 1987 | Peter Berger | (Title not listed) |
| 1986 | John T. Noonan Jr. | (Title not listed) |
| 1985 | Paul Johnson | An Almost Chosen People |
Several of the Erasmus Lectures have been subsequently published in print or collected in essay volumes. While most lectures are released as full texts or recordings through First Things, a number of them have appeared in independent editions, either as part of the First Things Reprint Series or in later collections by their authors. The following table lists Erasmus Lectures that have been published in book or reprint form.
| Year | Lecturer | Lecture title | Publication details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Robert L. Wilken | Christianity Face to Face with Islam | Published as Christianity Face to Face with Islam: First Things Reprint Series (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010). Adapted from the 2008 Erasmus Lecture. |
| 2011 | Gilbert Meilaender | A Complete Life | Published as part of the First Things Reprint Series (CreateSpace, 2012). Adapted from the 2011 Erasmus Lecture. |
| 2003 | Dana Gioia | The Catholic Writer Today | Included in The Catholic Writer Today: And Other Essays (Wiseblood Books, 2019). The essay originated as the 2003 Erasmus Lecture published in First Things. |