Cultivating Critical Thinkers

Ruth Melkonian

Assistant Professor of Political Studies, Gordon College
CPJ Civitas scholar, 1999

Dr. Ruth Melkonian has an agenda: She wants to help her students think more critically about government and politics. As a professor of political studies at Gordon College—a Christian liberal arts institution in Wenham, Mass.—Melkonian pushes undergraduates to examine various political ideologies, including Christian nationalism, without being beholden to any one of them.

“It’s good for students to put a name on what they’ve been taught growing up, and to think harder about each ideology’s assets and deficiencies,” she says.
 
“I also try to help students look at their view of the state, and analyze government’s roles and responsibilities and limitations—and the reasons why.” 

Where Faith and Public Policy Meet

These are fundamental questions for Melkonian, the daughter of Cypriot Armenian and Danish immigrants who’s had a lifelong interest in the intersection of faith, politics, and culture. As an undergrad at Biola University in California, she explored this interest by working with Central American refugees and participating in off-campus programs focused on American political studies and Latin American studies.

A few years later, as a Ph.D. student in political science at Emory University, she took her study of faith and politics a step further. Feeling a need for “greater preparation in my thinking about public policy, faith, and how they’re integrated,” she joined the first group of summer scholars in the Washington, D.C.-based Civitas program.

Civitas was launched in 1999 by the Center for Public Justice in cooperation with the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, its aim was to lead Christian scholars on an in-depth exploration of policy issues and public justice from a Christian perspective.

A Shot in the Arm 

The Civitas program was a “shot in the arm” for Melkonian, who valued the chance to discuss “how to be salt and light in a more sophisticated manner” with fellow scholars.

“It was good to be challenged on what Scripture says about government, and to examine historic Christian teaching about politics—particularly the Catholic and Kuyperian perspectives,” she says. Melkonian came away from the experience with a “more positive view of government, and a more systematic way” of viewing the state and public policy issues.  

Refreshingly Thoughtful 

The Civitas program is one example of the uncommon work the Center for Public Justice is doing in the nation’s capital, according to Melkonian.

“I think there are few voices speaking to government and public policy, particularly in D.C., that aren’t partisan and aren’t beholden to parties or ideologies,” she says. “A lot of what jumps to mind when people think about Christian political engagement is the Christian right or Christian nationalism. This is such a great counter to that. CPJ is always refreshingly thoughtful and not reflexively ideological.”

One of the Center’s strengths, Melkonian adds, is its perspective on pluralism. “CPJ speaks thoughtfully on issues of justice for all faiths,” she says. “They help Christians think about the need for fairness for all religions without watering down what we think about the truth of our own faith. What CPJ does in terms of challenging Christians in the pew, Christians in the academy, and practitioners is so important. We need this kind of guidance.”  

At heart, what CPJ provides is the same kind of guidance Melkonian gives her students—the motivation and tools to think more critically about our life in the public square. 
 
 

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