Eric Patterson, Ph.D., is President & CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, DC and scholar-at-large and past dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. His expertise, informed by time at the US Department of State and in the military, is on just war thinking, the nexus of religion and national security, and Christian Realism. He is the author or editor of 22 books, including Just American Wars, Politics in a Religious World, and Ending Wars Well.
Moscow and Beijing’s argument of “Western encroachment” has an aura of authenticity in other capitals around the world, where there is a sense that the West’s business enterprises, Hollywood culture, and radical sexual ideologies are bludgeoning their cultures.
Eric PattersonJuly 1, 2022
Christians ought to carefully think about Flag Day, both in terms of symbols and in terms of citizenship.
Eric Patterson & Abigail LindnerJune 14, 2022
In this atmosphere of apathetic patriotism, G.K. Chesterton’s “Defense of Publicity,” an essay on public monuments, might draw focus back to the purpose of Memorial Day.
Eric Patterson & Abigail LindnerMay 27, 2022
What are we to make of France’s presidential election? More than anything, it points to the power of anti-systemic populism in French politics, whether on the Left or Right.
Eric PattersonApril 13, 2022
If order is the attainable and justice the possible, then (re)conciliation is the desirable. Conciliation is future-focused in that it sees former enemies as partners in a shared future.
Eric PattersonApril 6, 2022
When we bandy about “war crimes,” “assassination,” and other terms, we ought to consider what we are talking about and, if appropriate, what the available mechanisms for justice are.
Eric PattersonMarch 31, 2022
The Institute on Religion and Democracy and Providence dispatch scholars of political theology to speak at Christian colleges, universities and seminaries.
Eric Patterson & Mark TooleyMarch 25, 2022
Jus post bellum justice provides us with two criteria: holding aggressors responsible (punishment) and providing some form of restoration to victims (restitution). The reality of our time suggests a very limited justice.
Eric PattersonMarch 24, 2022
Before taking a look at justice, let’s take a step back and consider the explicitly Christian foundations for thinking about political order.
Eric PattersonMarch 18, 2022
The jus post bellum (the ethics of ending war and building peace) categories of order, justice, and conciliation can help us think through how the war in Ukraine should end.
Eric PattersonMarch 15, 2022
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