Book Interview - Hopeful Realism: Christian Approach to Policy and Politics
Event Details
Monday, February 10, 2025
Noon - 1 PM PST
Payson Library, Surfboard Room
For more information about this event, please email sppevents@pepperdine.edu, or call 310.506.7490.
During a time when political conversations are marked by deep polarization and difficult decision-making, what resources do Christians have to think faithfully about public life?
In their new book, Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics (IVP, 2025), political theorists Jesse Covington (Westmont), Bryan T. McGraw (Wheaton), and Micah Watson (Calvin), point to the natural law as a crucial resource for Christian political thought and engagement. Grounded in the hope and realism of Scripture, their theory is steeped in moral conviction and oriented toward practical political decision-making in democratic politics.
In this luncheon conversation, SPP dean Pete Peterson, will discuss the book's arguments with each of the authors who will be joining for this timely conversation about faith and politics.
Lunch will be provided to all registered guests.
This event is co-presented by Pepperdine Libraries and the School of Public Policy.
Speakers:
Dr. Jesse Covington is professor of political science and director of the Augustinian
Scholars honors program at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He teaches
and writes in the fields of political theory and constitutional law, with particular
interest in the interrelation of religion and government. His publications include
Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics (2025, with Bryan McGraw and Micah Watson), co-editing Evangelical Political Theory and Natural Law (2012), and articles and book chapters on St. Augustine of Hippo, political morality,
democracy, the First Amendment, and Christian liberal arts education. Covington has
taught at Westmont since 2007 and has also held appointments at Wheaton College and
Princeton University.
Dr. Bryan T. McGraw has always had an interest in the normative and philosophical
aspects of politics and only started learning about political theory in graduate school.
He is particularly interested in the ways modern states seek to establish and enforce
their own normative visions and how religion plays into that process. He has taught
previously at the University of Georgia, Notre Dame, and Pepperdine University. His
first book was published by Cambridge University Press, and he has a new book on evangelical
natural law. McGraw and his wife Martha, a practicing neurologist, live in Wheaton
and have three adult children. They enjoy gardening, all manners of outdoor activities,
and perfecting the art of smoked meats.
Micah Watson is the Paul Henry Chair for Christianity and Politics at Calvin University.
He is the co-author of C.S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law (Cambridge), and Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics (IVP Academic). He is a native of the great golden state of California, but is happy
to call Grand Rapids, Michigan home along with his wife Julie and their five children.
Interview Host: Pete Peterson
Pete Peterson is a leading national speaker and writer on issues related to civic participation, and the use of technology to make government more responsive and transparent. He was the first executive director of the bipartisan organization, Common Sense California, which in 2010 joined with the Davenport Institute at the School of Public Policy to become the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership. Peterson has co-created and currently co-facilitates the training seminar, "Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill in Difficult Times," a program that has been attended by over 4,500 municipal officials, and he also helped to develop the program, "Leading Smart Communities," which explores the ways in which technology is changing local government processes. Peterson has served as the chair of the Governance Committee for the Public Interest Technology-University Network. Peterson writes widely on public engagement for a variety of major news outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as numerous blogs. He contributed the chapter, "Place As Pragmatic Policy" to the edited volume, Why Place Matters: Geography, Identity, and Civic Life in Modern America (New Atlantis Books, 2014), and the chapter "Do-It Ourselves Citizenship" in the volume, Localism in the Mass Age (Wipf & Stock, 2018). Peterson serves on the boards of the Jack Miller Center and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, as well as the National Advisory Council for the Ashbrook Center, and on the Scholars Council for Braver Angels. He represents the School of Public Policy in the Public Interest Technology-University Network (PIT-UN). Peterson has served as a member of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, organized by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the nonprofit, Sophos Africa. Peterson has served on the Leadership Council of the bipartisan reform organization, California Forward, and has been a public affairs fellow at The Hoover Institution.
Peterson was the Republican candidate for California Secretary of State in 2014.