We are experiencing a breakdown in our political culture. Is it polarization? I will argue that the underlying problem is disintegration, a decline in trust in core institutions. The lecture will explore the causes of disintegration, which rest in the paradoxical establishment of permanent revolution. In a liquified world, the solid reality of the Church and authority of the apostolic inheritance can anchor people’s lives and provide a refuge, if not a solution, in our era of disintegration – R. R. Reno
R.R. Reno – has served as Editor of First Things since 2011. He received his PhD in theology from Yale University, and taught theology and ethics at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for twenty years. He has published in many academic journals, and his opinion essays have appeared in Commentary, National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times, and other popular outlets. His most recent books include The End of Interpretation, Return of the Strong Gods, and Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society.
