Sponberg Lecture Series
Sponberg Lecture Series
Ron Sponberg was a loyal member of the Church and the Men of St. Martin’s. His life was dedicated to God, his family and his country. Before his passing, Ron and his family endowed a lecture series aimed at re-educating us about our country’s core principles and exploring their genesis.
American democracy, as it should, has always allowed for a healthy debate about the direction of the country. When its core principles are at risk of being eliminated — whether by those at the right or left of the political spectrum — they need to be defended. This series reminds us of what they are and where they came from.
Donations are welcome to support this annual lecture series. Donate here.
Why Do We Separate Church from State?
with Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, University of Notre Dame
On Wednesday, April 30, the Men of St. Martin’s presented the second Sponberg lecture series, which featured Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Notre Dame and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Muñoz divided his lecture into three parts. The first two parts focused on two leading and competing visions of the separation of Church and State and religious freedom in America today. The final part presented his insights on Christianity and religious freedom.In the first part, Dr. Muñoz explored the Progressive approach, which emerged in the mid-20th century through several Supreme Court decisions. The second part of the lecture shifted to the Founding Fathers of the United States, emphasizing their shared beliefs — particularly regarding the natural rights of limited government.
“The first fundamental fact from the country’s founders is that all individuals possess a natural right to religious freedom,” he stated. “This right is inherent and not granted by the state or government. Our Creator endows us with these rights. A good and just government acknowledges our natural rights. The crucial point is that rights do not originate from the government; they are part of our created nature. The recognition that we have rights by nature is the first fundamental fact. The second fundamental fact, as articulated by James Madison, is that we have a right to religious freedom because we have a duty to worship God.”
The lecture concluded with a response by the Hon. Edith Jones, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a question-and-answer period with Dr. Muñoz, the Hon. Edith Jones and the Rev. Jordan Hylden.
Pictured are Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Rev. Jordan Hylden and the Hon. Edith Jones.
How the Christian Revolution
Remade the World
with Tom Holland
Tom Holland, author and historian, spoke about his book, “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.” The book looks at how Christ’s teachings liberated the Western mind and has been described as the most important theological writing of the last 50 years.