Shared Justice, CPJ’s program for Christian college students and young adults, inspires and equips the next generation of leaders with the framework and tools needed for a sustained commitment to civic engagement and advocacy in their communities. By extension, Shared Justice is devoted to providing resources, tools, and support to academics, pastors, and other individuals engaged in forming young adults as citizens. Shared Justice’s core programming includes the annual Hatfield Prize research award, an online publication, virtual and in-person events with college students, and CPJ’s internship program.
Shared Justice
Toward an Engaged and Hopeful Civic Presence
The Civitas Fellowship
The Civitas Fellowship is a bipartisan Christian leadership development program for early/mid-career Hill staffers, exploring the “what” and “how” of Christian public service. Civitas Fellows recognize that the bonds that tie us together as Christians are stronger and more meaningful than our party affiliations–and want to investigate the meaning of Christian public service on Capitol Hill.
Meet the 2026 Hatfield Prize Recipients
We’re pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Hatfield Prize:
Margot Kapic, Michael Mawhinney, & Lance Wescher, Ph.D. from Covenant College will explore a scalable approach to transitional housing through churches and prefabricated shelters.
Emma Scott & Ivy George, Ph.D. from Gordon College will research the relationship between housing quality and child well-being.
Jonathan Porteous & Brian Howell, Ph.D. from Wheaton College will examine how organizational and institutional networks support the vocational and educational needs of boys and young men on Chicago’s South Side.
Stay tuned for their final reports in September 2026!
Hatfield Happenings
The Hatfield Prize is awarded annually to three student-faculty pairs from Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) schools.
Each pair conducts research on a social policy that impacts the well-being of children, families, and communities. This semester-long research project culminates in a policy report published by the Center for Public Justice.
The Hatfield Prize is made possible through the generosity of The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. We thank them for their support, but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in the reports are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of these foundations.
Political Discipleship is a praxis-based curriculum from the Center for Public Justice created for small groups that provides a practical approach to Christian citizenship and engagement with public justice. It is designed to help small groups explore faithful, Christian citizenship by practicing citizenship together. Political Discipleship meets for 11 sessions, culminating in a face-to-face meeting with a public official.
Discover Unleashing Opportunity
In Unleashing Opportunity: Why Escaping Poverty Requires a Shared Vision of Justice, Michael Gerson, Stephanie Summers and Katie Thompson explore five key issues that are taking a disproportionate and devastating toll on low-income Americans.
For each topic, Gerson puts a lens on the magnitude of the problem, Summers applies a public justice framework for considering solutions, and Thompson tells the story of real Americans who have experienced these issues first hand.
