On Thursday evening, September 17, HLGU students had the privilege to hear from Dr. John Wilsey as part of HLGU’s Constitution Day events. Dr. Wilsey spoke on Alexis de Tocqueville and the necessity of religion to liberty. He talked to students about how Tocqueville distinguished between equality and liberty and why Tocqueville thought Christianity was well suited for democracy. The event was only open to select business students due to social distancing requirements but was streamed live on Facebook and is available to watch on the Hannibal-LaGrange University Facebook page.
Mr. Scott Hall, chair of the business department and assistant professor of business, is leading the way for these types of events on campus. He says, “We’re very excited to host Dr. John Wilsey as our first speaker for our fall speaker series on the nature of a free society. Dr. Wilsey is a nationally known author with particular insight on the impact religion has on liberty, particularly Christianity. Events like this help students and the community toward a greater understanding of what a free society is and how we can maintain one. These talks are a lot of fun; always interesting and entertaining!”
On Friday morning, September 18, the honors community hosted Dr. Wilsey for a talk on the topic of “Conservativism: What is it? Does it have a future?” He outlined the basic tenets of conservatism, which he identified as an approach to life, which includes an appreciation of the wisdom of the past and a cautious approach to change. He also identified several strands of American conservative thought, including Black Conservatism.
Dr. Miles Mullin, director of the honors program, commented, “It is always a privilege to have someone of John’s intellectual stature on campus to address our academic community. His talk was well-delivered and stirred discussion regarding many issues, which is really the point of our efforts.”
Dr. Wilsey is associate professor of church history and philosophy at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 2017-2018 William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, where he conducted research for his forthcoming religious biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s secretary of state, John Foster Dulles. That book will be released under the title God’s Cold Warrior: The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles by Eerdmans this February 9. Dr. Wilsey edited an abridged edition of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America for Lexham Press in 2016, and is the author of One Nation Under God: An Evangelical Critique of Christian America and American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea.