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Religious, Economic Principles Meet At Acton Institute

In 1985 Kris Mauren, an undergraduate studying economics at Johns Hopkins, attended an evening discussion session at the university’s Newman Center.

The discussion leader was Robert Sirico, a seminarian graduate student studying theology at the Catholic University of America.

To say that the two hit it off is an understatement.

The student of economics and the student of theology found themselves in solid agreement that their respective fields of study were not meshing in a way beneficial for mankind.

They agreed, Mauren recalls, “that religious leaders very seldom had any formal training in economics and, therefore, often held very uninformed economic views of the world.

“At the same time, many seminaries around the world were actively teaching a positive view of liberation theology, which was an attempt to ‘Christianize’ a Marxist economic worldview.”

From their own coursework, broad economic reading, and their understanding of Catholic social teaching, the two men believed liberation theology was a dangerous theological proposition and a disastrous economic model.

For action-oriented men like Sirico and Mauren, hand-wringing was not an acceptable reaction.  Instead, in 1990 they launched an education and public policy organization called the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

The aim of the Institute is to promote a society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is a thriving humanity.

They named their organization after Lord John Acton, an eminent British historian who believed that religion and liberty are the twin pillars of a good society.

“I admired Lord Acton as a man who embraced faith and reason, and who contributed mightily to the Church’s thinking on temporal matters,” says Mauren, who became the Institute’s executive director.

“One of my favorite quotes by him was, ‘Liberty is not the freedom to do what you want but the right to do what you ought.’

“I think this nicely places our freedom not as an end in itself, but as an invitation to right action.  This certainly separates us from those that advocate radical individualism, and we thought it was a good intellectual framework for our institution.”

The Institute began its efforts by organizing Toward a Free and Virtuous Society conference programs for seminarians.

The programs, which continue to this day throughout the U.S. and around the world, help future religious leaders focus on “first principles.”

“So many of our current problems, especially seen in attacks on human life at its most vulnerable stages, are essentially problems of ‘first principles’ and mistaken anthropology,” says Mauren.

“The first question we discuss deeply at our conferences is, ‘Who is the human person?’  Getting this answer right is the ultimate key to addressing a culture in decay.”

Conversely, the Institute also works with business leaders, helping them to integrate their faith into the workplace.

So on the one hand, they exhort religious leaders to embrace sound principles of economics as tools to analyze economic issues that arise in their ministry.

And on the other hand, they challenge business executives and entrepreneurs to integrate their faith more fully into their professional lives, and to strive after higher standards of ethical conduct in their work.

Acton also seeks to influence the thinking of university professors and academic researchers on economic principles.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Acton Institute today employs over 30 people and has an annual budget of $3.5 million, and its activities and initiatives are wide-ranging.

But running through them all, says Mauren, is “the theme of human dignity, which is protected best in a society characterized by individual liberty but sustained by religious principles.”

Is the Acton Institute making a dent in our society?

Absolutely, says Mauren.

“In the nearly 15 years since we started our work, the alumni of our programs, now numbering in the thousands, are beginning to enter positions of leadership.  Acton’s work is an important reference for them.

“Not a day goes by where we don’t receive a card, letter or email from a grateful alumnus thanking us for how we’ve positively impacted their lives.

“Likewise, we hear from people all around the world, commending us for our efforts.  It reminds me that ideas have consequences, and our ideas can and will help secure authentic human dignity.”