Davenant Trust Hosts Conference at The King’s College

The Davenant Trust is a non-profit organization founded to support the “renewal of Christian wisdom in the church,” and it seeks to “sponsor historical scholarship at the intersection of the church and academy, build networks of friendship and collaboration within the Reformed and evangelical world, and equip the saints with time-tested resources for faithful public witness.”

Christian Citizenship In Post-Christian America Event poster
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Davenant Trust Event

On October 14 and 15, The King’s College, along with First Things magazine and the Davenant Trust, co-sponsored a conversation on Christian citizenship in post-Christian America, as part of the Davenant Trust’s second annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Convivium. The Davenant Trust is a non-profit organization founded to support the “renewal of Christian wisdom in the church,” and it seeks to “sponsor historical scholarship at the intersection of the church and academy, build networks of friendship and collaboration within the Reformed and evangelical world, and equip the saints with time-tested resources for faithful public witness.” The King’s College was pleased to co-host the event.

On Friday evening and all-day Saturday, pastors, academics, professionals, and students and alumni of The King’s College gathered together to consider what it means to live as a Christian citizen in this day and age and how to be a faithful public witness. Dr. David Innes, associate professor of politics and the chair of the program in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at The King’s College, introduced the convivium. Dr. Bradford Littlejohn, president of the Davenant Trust, then presented a paper titled, “Protestantism and Political Liberalism: A Complicated Relationship.”

In his presentation, Littlejohn asked attendees to consider how historical Protestantism has influenced and contributed to political liberalism. Since Christ spoke the words, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” said Littlejohn, Christians have had to “grapple with the challenge of living under different kings and different laws.” Littlejohn said that Christians have historically responded in three ways: by attempting to bring God and Caesar into alliance, by “restricting their kingdoms to different worlds,” and by hoping that Caesar would adopt pluralistic policies that allow for religious conscience. Littlejohn called each of these solutions “overoptimistic” and commended Reformation theology for refusing to dismiss the challenge of living in both worlds. The rest of Littlejohn’s talk considered whether and how liberty of conscience is bound to a higher law. He concluded that an “authentically liberal order can only sustain itself on Christian, and, indeed, Protestant principles,” as a secular liberal order, “lacking any means to distinguish between the ultimate and penultimate, will eventually tend to regress into intolerance and totalitarianism.”

Following Littlejohn, Matthew Schmitz, literary editor at First Things, gave a lecture titled “Christian Politics after Liberalism.” In his talk, Schmitz focused on a particular response Christians have had to their waning influence in American culture—pleading “for tolerance by appealing to liberal beliefs in free speech, freedom of religion, and pluralism.” Schmitz argued that this response is inadequate, saying that liberalism as we have known it has come to an end and that instead of appealing to freedom, “we must teach ourselves and others to speak of duties instead of rights, virtue instead of liberty, truth instead of free speech.” Schmitz said that Christians have “staked [their] survival on American liberalism,” and asked, “Is that a safe bet?” The evening concluded with a time of discussion and Q&A.

Saturday’s events included breakout sessions led by graduate students, early-career scholars, and pastors in the morning and panels led by Dr. Innes and Dr. Matthew Parks, assistant professor of politics and and associate dean of academic affairs at The King’s College, in the afternoon. Dr. Innes hosted “Rerum Novarum 125 Years Later: A Vision for Christian Social Thought,” which considered the political lessons Christians could draw from Pope Leo XII’s encyclical, and Schmitz and Littlejohn participated. In their remarks, Innes focused on the “centrality of the family in public policy,” and Schmitz and Littlejohn talked about the “living wage” and minimum-wage legislation.

Dr. Parks hosted “Post-Christian America: Old and New Models for Christian Citizenship in the 21st Century,” and Littlejohn and Orthodox Presbyterian pastor Tom Trouwborst (father of two King’s alumni and a current student) participated. Parks spoke about Christian engagement in politics from the founding until the Second Great Awakening; Littlejohn spoke about what the Christian Right has gotten wrong, what it has gotten right, and where to go from here; and Trouwborst spoke about what it looks like to be a Christian witness in a time where Christianity is unpopular.

Ray Davison, a King’s alumnus (’13) who attended the weekend’s events, said the conference gave him hope. “I look forward to political exile now that I have these comrades,” he joked. Tim Wainwright, another King’s alumnus (’12), commented that the convivium was “a great example of what King’s does at its best—serve as a hub for the best and brightest thinkers in orthodox Christianity, giving them the physical and intellectual resources to grapple with the most pressing questions of our time.”


For more than 75 years, The King’s College has educated young leaders to integrate their faith, ethics, and morality seamlessly into their lives and careers. The only traditional Christian liberal arts college or university located in the heart of New York City, King’s prepares students for principled leadership around the world. Visit tkc.edu for more information or request a personalized visit by calling 888-969-7200


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