The Chicago-based Lumen Christi Institute, an organization dedicated to spreading the Catholic intellectual tradition, will establish a national network of independent institutes of Catholic thought. The program, “In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide,” comes thanks to a generous $3,648,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
The grant
The grant will support the development of six such institutes at high profile universities in the United States. This three-year plan, the first of its kind, will provide members with resources to grow their institutes, as well as to develop programming and on-campus activities. On its website, Lumen Christi lists the six universities that will launch the program:
The network
Lumen Christi explains that these institutes already exist, but there is no organization or association between them. Along with financial assistance, the new network will allow for communication and collaboration among institutes. They note that up until now “their impact, while meaningful, has yet to reach their full potential.”
OSV reports that while the institutes operate independently from their prospective schools, they serve their secular university’s students, faculty, and staff. Programming will create dialogues between various disciplines and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Catholic thought
One example of topics of discussion by In Lumen institutes is the relationship between science and religion. Stephen Barr, president of the Society of Catholic Scientists, told OSV:
Furthermore, the institutes will inform and educate on the tradition of Catholic thought, which Lumen Christi boasts is “the longest intellectual tradition of any institution in the contemporary world.”
In Lumine
David Albertson, founding director of the Nova Forum and associate professor of religion at the University of Southern California, told OSV:
The goal of the new network is to create a consortium that is greater than the sum of its parts. In Lumine is expected to create bonds of collaboration that are expected to endure long after the three-year duration of the grant. Lumen Christi has stated that after the first year, the consortium will open up to new members at schools across the United States.
Visit Lumen Christi to learn how the organization is promoting the Catholic intellectual tradition.
