The University graciously welcomed Dr. Mark Hall, George Fox University Herbert Hoover distinguished professor of politics and director of the John Dickinson Forum for the Study of America’s Founding Principles. Dr. Hall serves additionally as faculty fellow in the William Penn Honors Program at George Fox, associated faculty at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, and senior fellow at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.
The question of the founder’s faith has caused much conversation among historians, as it did with Monday’s attendees. Greg Schaller, president of The John Jay Institute and Cairn professor, remarked that the lecture led to great interaction between the approximately 30 attendees and Dr. Hall. “The audience enjoyed it a lot,” said Schaller. “They were very engaged and had several questions for him once the lecture was done.”
Schaller reported that Dr. Hall argues much of the debate concerning the faith of the founding fathers centers around inaccurate scholarship. “Dr. Hall rejects the notion that most of the founders were either Deists or non-believers,” Schaller explained. “In fact, his research shows that the overwhelming majority of those who participated in the Constitutional Convention were orthodox, creedal Christians.”
History-minded students and community members benefited from Dr. Mark Hall’s discussion as he engaged a long-held, and likely continual, debate on the relationship between faith and politics.


The Compassionate Aid in Dying Bill is No Neighbor to Life [From Northeast Times]
In March 2023, Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced the Compassionate Aid in Dying bill (HB543/SB816). The bill is modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, which has largely set the framework, in