Francis Beckwith, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies, Affiliate Professor of Political Science | Baylor University
Waco, TX, UNITED STATES
Nationally recognized philosopher and legal expert in the areas of religion, jurisprudence, politics and ethics.
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Biography
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 and Co-Director of the Program on Philosophical Studies of Religion in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR).
With his appointment in Baylor’s Department of Philosophy, he also teaches courses in medical humanities, political science, religion, and church-state studies. From July 2003 through January 2007, he served as the Associate Director of Baylor’s J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies.
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, where he won a CALI Award for Academic Excellence in Reproductive Control Seminar.
His books include Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2015 ); (w/R. Sherlock) The Catholic Invitation to Latter-Day Saints (Ignatius Press, forthcoming); (w/ R. P. George, S. McWilliams) A Second Look at First Things: A Case for Conservative Politics (St. Augustine Press, 2013); Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft (InterVarsity Press, 2010); Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic (Brazos Press, 2009), among many others.
Professor Beckwith has been quoted in a variety of publications including the New York Times, the 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, Moody Magazine, Christian Research Journal, the Baptist Standard and the Salt Lake Tribune.
Areas of Expertise (12)
Faith
Law
Church and State Issues
Philosophical and Theological Ethics
Ethics & Values
Politics
Religion Politics & Culture
Religion
Philosophical Ethics
Political Ethics
Church
Religious Ethics
Education (3)
Fordham University: Ph.D., Philosophy
Fordham University: M.A., Philosophy
Washington University School of Law: M.J.S.
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Links (1)
Media Appearances (7)
On Religion: Why Battles Over Parental Rights Are Not Going Away
Religion Unplugged online
2024-08-11
Francis Beckwith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor, is quoted in the article about the recent legal battles regarding parental rights.
Unpacking Philosophy & Religion / How to Seek The Truth & Cultivate Faith
Finding Genius Podcast online
2024-02-07
AUDIO: In this conversation, Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor, sits down with host Richard Jacobs to talk about philosophy, how worldviews are shaped and the importance of listening to people you disagree with.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments about religious rights of Texas death row inmates
KRLD-AM radio
2021-11-09
AUDIO: Francis Beckwith is interviewed about a U.S. Supreme Court case on the rights of death row inmates to have spiritual advisers in the execution chamber.
U.S. Supreme Court weighs religion’s place in the Texas death chamber
The Texas Tribune online
2021-11-09
Francis Beckwith is quoted in this article about the arguments heard by the U.S. Supreme Court over what religious rights the state must accord inmates on death row.
Democratic governor woos believers in Brooklyn megachurch
The Goshen News online
2021-10-07
Francis Beckwith explains how a New York governor’s support of vaccines in a Brooklyn church appeals to both political parties.
Bob Dylan turns 80, while Dylanologists keep arguing about signs of faith in his art
Get Religion online
2021-05-19
As Bob Dylan's 80th birthday approaches, Francis Beckwith is publishing online commentaries on what he considers Dylan's 80 most important songs, a canon that includes images and themes rooted in Scripture and faith.
Mattingly: Traditional Catholics watching Biden's actions
Herald and News online
2020-08-27
Francis Beckwith is quoted in this article about Catholic politicians and debates on controversial issues within the community.
Articles (7)
What’s So Special About Religious Liberty? Law, Philosophy, and Serving God
George Mason University Civil Rights Law JournalFrancis Joseph Beckwith
2023-03-13
This paper addresses the question of the specialness of religious liberty.
Violinists, Burglars, People-Seeds, Samaritans, and Reluctant Bone Marrow Donors: Why Do We Need Analogies to Pregnancy in Order to Understand It?
Agency, Pregnancy, and, Persons: Essays in Defense of Human LifeFrancis Joseph Beckwith
2022-08-24
Do we need an analogy to pregnancy in order to understand its meaning and the moral obligations that may arise from it?
Separated at Baptism: What the Mortara Case Can Teach Us About the Rejection of Natural Justice by Integralists and Progressives
Brigham Young University Law ReviewFrancis Joseph Beckwith
2022-07-13
In recent years two Catholic scholars--Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P and Dr. Mary McAleese—have taken seemingly contrary positions on the rights and obligations of the Church in relation to baptized children.
Why Is Sexual Assault Special?: Transactional Sex and Sacred Intuitions
The Palgrave Handbook of Sexual EthicsFrancis Joseph Beckwith
2022-02-08
A transactional view of sex is in tension with our intuitions about the special wrongness of sexual assault and harassment.
CHURCH, STATE, AND THE ABUSE CRISIS: The Role of Assumed Ideas of “Reasonableness” in Religious Liberty
Journal of Christian Legal ThoughtFrancis J. Beckwith
2020-06-01
A look at the abuse crisis in the American Catholic Church through the lens of the often complex and uneasy relationship between Catholicism and American culture and politics.
Moral Status and the Architects of Principlism
The Journal of Medicine & PhilosophyFrancis Beckwith, Allison Krile Thornton
2020-07-29
This article discusses Beauchamp and Childress’s treatment of the issue of moral status, a moral ranking of sorts based on characteristics or attributes that tell us whether a being has certain rights or basic welfare interests.
Gotta Serve Somebody? Religious Liberty, Freedom of Conscience, and Religion as Comprehensive Doctrine
Studies in Christian EthicsFrancis J. Beckwith
2019-12-18
This article critically assesses an account of religious liberty often associated with several legal and political philosophers: Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, and Christopher Eisgruber and Lawrence Sager.
