The Center for Public Justice (CPJ) will host the 28th Annual Kuyper Lecture on Thursday, October 2, at 5:00 pm ET in the University of Notre Dame Washington Office in Washington, D.C. This year’s lecture will be delivered by Gert-Jan Segers, who served in the Dutch Parliament from 2012 to 2023, on the topic ‘The Afternoon of Democracy: How Faith Can Save Government of, by, and for the People.’ The event will open with a reception at 5:00 p.m., followed by the lecture at 6:15 p.m.

With a worldwide decline in democracy and the rise of autocratic rule, we are witnessing what President Lincoln famously called the “afternoon of government of, by, and for the people.” All Western democracies face enormous challenges, both from within their societies, such as polarization and unstable governments, and from anti-democratic forces abroad.

In this Kuyper Lecture, Segers will argue that while the defense of democracy requires a commitment to a set of political rules and regular free elections, it also calls for a rediscovery that: 1) democracy is rooted in deep beliefs and faith, and 2) democracy is meant for high purposes such as justice and truth. This lecture will outline a path for faith in democracy and offer hope for a new morning in our free societies.

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Speaker:

Gert-Jan Segers is a Dutch politician and writer (b.1969) whose career has been shaped by his deep Christian faith and commitment to religious freedom. He was a member of the Dutch Parliament from 2012-2023.

As leader of the Christian Union in the Dutch parliament from 2015 to 2023, he played a pivotal role in shaping national debates on justice, human dignity, and the role of faith in public life. He was a two-time member of the coalition government of the Netherlands.

Today, he continues to speak and write internationally on democracy, pluralism, and the vital place of religion in society.