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The theological vision behind Civitas, say the program's leaders, is decidedly "Kuyperian"—the philosophical school of thought inspired by Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper (1837-1920) was an influential Dutch Reformed theologian and political leader whose tireless efforts to combine religious orthodoxy and social reform have emboldened generations of Christian intellectuals. In addition to pastoral ministry, he founded the Free University of Amsterdam and served as a prime minister in the Dutch government. For Kuyper, intellectual inquiry and social activism were Christian imperatives.

The Kuyperian model pervades the summer institutes. According to Jim Skillen of the Center for Pub lic Justice, Civitas is designed to foster leaders who will engage with policy debates, from either inside the academy or from posts in government and think tanks. You won't find many Stanley Hauerwas-inspired "resident aliens" at Civitas, offering a radical witness to the world but not engaging it directly; nor will you meet academics who pooh-pooh the world outside the ivory tower.

The Civitas program reflects the Pew Charitable Trust's new emphasis on religion and the public square. Under the leadership of Luis Lugo, who became the program director for religion in January 1997, Pew has broadened its interest in religion and scholarship to include making connections with the public square. Civitas, Lugo says, aims to help doctoral students build a bridge between their faith and their studies, and connect their calling as Christian intellectuals to the real world.

"I want to turn them all into Jean Bethke Elshtains," Lugo says, referring to the prolific writer and University of Chicago professor of social and political ethics. "I want them to be Christian public intellectuals who can speak meaningfully and intelligently to the broader public, not simply academics."

Lugo confesses that "if Civitas had existed when I was a grad student studying politics at the University of Chicago, I would have jumped all over it."

The core of Civitas, now entering its third year, is the students, who come because something is missing from their graduate programs.

Heather McMillen, a doctoral candidate in psychology at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, says she especially appreciated hearing Charles Glenn's take on vouchers. "These things don't always come up in the classrooms at Harvard," she says, and if they do come up, professors are likely to take a decidedly liberal stance.

Other Civitas scholars say the most important part of the program is meeting other Christian grad students. Leah Seppanen, a doctoral student in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Wheaton College alumna, says that while she has learned a lot from her classmates at UNC, sometimes it's tough to find conversation partners who don't automatically condemn, say, opposition to gay marriage as politically incorrect bigotry.

During Seppanen's time in Chapel Hill, the City Council and unc alike have debated what recognition to give same-sex couples, and Jimmy Creech, the Methodist minister who was eventually defrocked for performing gay marriage ceremonies, married two men at a Chapel Hill Baptist church in 1999.

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November 13 2000, Vol. 44, No. 13