Brad Littlejohn

Fellow

Brad Littlejohn, Ph.D., is a Fellow in EPPC’s Evangelicals in Civic Life Program, where his work focuses on helping public leaders understand the intellectual and historical foundations of our current breakdown of public trust, social cohesion, and sound governance. His research investigates shifting understandings of the nature of freedom and authority, and how a more full-orbed conception of freedom, rooted in the Christian tradition, can inform policy that respects both the dignity of the individual and the urgency of the common good. He also serves as President of the Davenant Institute.

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Brad Littlejohn, Ph.D., is a Fellow in EPPC’s Evangelicals in Civic Life Program, where his work focuses on helping public leaders understand the intellectual and historical foundations of our current breakdown of public trust, social cohesion, and sound governance. His research investigates shifting understandings of the nature of freedom and authority, and how a more full-orbed conception of freedom, rooted in the Christian tradition, can inform policy that respects both the dignity of the individual and the urgency of the common good. He also serves as President of the Davenant Institute.

A scholar and writer in the fields of Christian ethics, historical theology, and conservative political thought, he earned his PhD in Theological Ethics at the University of Edinburgh in 2014, where he studied the relationship of freedom and authority in the English Reformation. He is the author of The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty and The Two Kingdoms: A Guide for the Perplexed, among other books, as well as numerous peer-reviewed and popular-level articles and book chapters on topics ranging from freedom of conscience to the nature of property rights to the moral architecture of digital technology.

In 2013 he founded the Davenant Institute, an organization dedicated to retrieving and renewing the Protestant theological and ethical tradition, and frequently writes, speaks, and teaches for their publications, conferences, and courses. He has also taught at Moody Bible Institute and Patrick Henry College, and served as Headmaster of Loudoun Classical School.

Most recently, he worked as a Senior Fellow of the Edmund Burke Foundation as lead author on multi-year project entitled “Foundations of Liberty: Rediscovering the Anglo-American Conservative Tradition.” His essays arising out of this research have appeared in journals such as National Affairs, American Affairs, The American Conservative, First Things, and Modern Age.

He is also a weekly Opinion Contributor at WORLD Magazine, and publishes regularly on questions of Christian ethics and political theology for outlets such as The Gospel Coalition, American Reformer, Desiring God, and Mere Orthodoxy.

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Truthful, impartial, merciful

Brad Littlejohn

Christians should avoid simplistic rhetoric about crime.

Articles

WORLD Opinions / January 5, 2024

A blank check won’t happen

Brad Littlejohn

Congress has debated continued military funding for Ukraine over the past couple weeks, with Republicans staunchly insisting that any such aid must be tied to a bill strengthening border security on the chaotic U.S.-Mexico border.

Articles

WORLD Opinions / December 20, 2023

Europe’s Islam problem

Brad Littlejohn

Nations depend upon shared histories, customs, languages, and religious practices in order to sustain the mutual understanding that prevents politics from descending into a warfare of rival clans.

Articles

WORLD Opinions / November 29, 2023

The Tyranny of Seeing Only Power

Brad Littlejohn

Without authority, every constraint is felt to be oppressive, from gun licensing laws to my work schedule to the biological sex of my own body. Within a healthy understanding of authority, any number of constraints may be experienced as liberating.

Articles

Mere Orthodoxy / November 29, 2023

Investing in the Christian mind

Brad Littlejohn

It is, after all, no secret that most of our universities are a mess. The seemingly uncontrollable rise of tuition, most of it going to fund bloated administration and student lifestyle perks rather than actual teaching and scholarship, is running up against the inexorable fact of demographic decline and the diminishing economic importance of a college degree.

Articles

WORLD Opinions / November 20, 2023

Words have weight

Brad Littlejohn

Rethinking cancel culture.

WORLD Opinions / November 3, 2023

Retrieving Our Common Wealth: A Manifesto

Brad Littlejohn

What then is a “commonwealth”? It is not a word we use often.

Ad Fontes Journal / October 26, 2023

Winning the long game

Brad Littlejohn

Institution-building is key to pushing back evil in today’s culture battles.

WORLD / October 25, 2023

A slippery rock

Brad Littlejohn

Confusion and instability are hallmarks of this papacy.

WORLD Opinions / October 13, 2023

Conservatives win by playing the long game

Brad Littlejohn

Activism looks different for those committed to defending truth and the created order.

WORLD Opinions / September 28, 2023

Too many options, too little purpose

Brad Littlejohn

The fentanyl crisis stems from the fragmented reality of modern America.

WORLD Opinions / September 25, 2023

Time to get serious

Brad Littlejohn

The GOP should address the serious problems facing many Americans.

WORLD Opinions / September 20, 2023