Francis Beckwith, Ph.D.

Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Graduate Program in Philosophy. He teaches courses in philosophy, religion, jurisprudence, applied ethics, and church-state studies. In May 2025, he was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve on the advisory board of legal experts for the Religious Liberty Commission.

A graduate of Fordham University (Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy), he also holds the Master of Juridical Studies (M.J.S.) degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. His book, Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2015), was the winner of the American Academy of Religion’s (AAR’s) prestigious Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Constructive-Reflective Studies. His other books include Defending Life (Cambridge University Press, 2007); Never Doubt Thomas: The Catholic Aquinas as Evangelical and Protestant (Baylor University Press, 2019); (w/R. Sherlock) A Catholic Engagement With Latter-Day Saints (Ignatius Press, 2024); and Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft (InterVarsity Press, 2010). He is the 2025 Russell Kirk Paideia Prize winner, awarded by the CiRCE Institute to an extraordinary veteran educator.

Professor Beckwith has been quoted in a variety of publications including the New York Times, Dallas Morning-News, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, World Magazine, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Las Vegas Sun, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Los Angeles Times, the Waco Tribune-Herald, the Washington Times, Touchstone Magazine, the National Catholic Register, Commonweal, the Baptist Standard and the Salt Lake Tribune.