ABOUT THE CENTER

William F. Buckley Jr. brought conservative thought and ideals to a national audience. National Review Institute’s Center for Religion, Culture, and Civil Society furthers this mission by connecting various conservatives to followers across the country, putting a special focus on personal faith and how it positively influences society and culture. The Center does this by hosting private, invitation-only salons for NRI members, public intellectuals, and opinion-leaders, and giving them the opportunity to discuss critical issues of importance with NRI senior fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez; hosting meetings that unite religious and conservative leaders, working together on specific issues involving an array of policy issues; and representing NRI at key conferences and gatherings. The purpose of the Center is in the tradition of Mr. Buckley’s life of faith, which enlivened his undertaking with a passionate commitment to virtue, to human life and dignity, and to liberty against any whisper of godlessness or tyranny that threatened these religious principles.

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PAST EVENTS

November 20, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: Be More Pro-Life: A National Adoption Month Discussion & Challenge WATCH HERE

November 19, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: Go to Bethlehem Virtually — and Spiritually — This Christmas WATCH HERE

July 11, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: Can the American Solidarity Party Appeal to the Politically Homeless? WATCH HERE

June 26, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: No Child Forgotten: The Possum Trot Challenge of Love and Radical Hospitality WATCH HERE

June 24, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: Showing Love on the Frontlines of Life – A Second Anniversary of Dobbs Discussion WATCH HERE

April 11, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: IVF Deserves Better than Political Headlines WATCH HERE

March 7, 2024 | Virtual Event: Culture Matters: What Is a Woman? Cabrini Helps Answer the Question WATCH HERE

December 18, 2023 | Virtual Event: Book Talk Event on All the Leaves Are Brown with Scott Shea WATCH HERE

November 15, 2023 | Virtual Event: Mothers, Daughters, Sisters—Leaders All, cohosted with the Given Institute WATCH HERE

October 30, 2023 | Atlanta, GA: Conservatism as a Steadfast Presence in an Anxious Age, cohosted with the Georgia Center for Opportunity and Lumen Institute

May 31, 2023 | Virtual Event: No Child Left Behind: The Urgency of a Post-Dobbs Response to the Foster-Care Crisis WATCH HERE

January 19, 2023 | Washington D.C.: March for Life Luncheon

January 5, 2023 | Virtual Event: What Is the Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI? co-hosted with Catholic World Report, Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Ignatius Press

December 6, 2022 | Virtual Event: Making Room in the Inn: Opening Hearts and Homes to Foster and Adopt Children, co-hosted with The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Springs of Love, and USCCB Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth WATCH HERE

September 21, 2022 | Virtual Event: Adoption After Roe: A New Movie Highlights Its Importance WATCH HERE

September 16, 2022 | Roundtable: The Future of Pro-Family Policy Post-Roe with Ramesh Ponnuru and Kathryn Lopez

September 8, 2022 | Virtual Event: Pro-Life Centers Under Attack = Religious Freedom Under Attack. Co-hosted with the Religious Freedom Institute WATCH HERE

August 5, 2022 | Virtual Event: What does the fight for life look like in the states post-Roe? WATCH HERE

July 29, 2022 | Virtual Event: Healing from the wounds of abortion after Roe WATCH HERE

July 22, 2022 | Virtual Event: Fierce Mercy with Abby Johnson WATCH HERE

July 20, 2022 | Virtual Event: Is There Hope for Us? A Gospel Response to These Turbulent Times WATCH HERE

July 15, 2022 | Virtual Event: The Culture of Law After Roe WATCH HERE

July 6, 2022 | Virtual Event: Pro-Life Healthcare after Roe WATCH HERE

July 1, 2022 | Virtual Event: Roe is over. Now What? WATCH HERE

June 30, 2022 | Virtual Event: Living in a post-Roe Wisconsin: What’s Next

June 27, 2022 | Washington, D.C.: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing WATCH HERE

June 13, 2022 | Virtual Event: Pentecost Martyrdom: Is There Hope for Nigerian Christians? WATCH HERE 

May 6, 2022 | Virtual Event: The Supreme Court and Dobbs WATCH HERE

April 8, 2022 | Virtual Event: St. John of the Cross, Master of Contemplation: Kathryn Jean Lopez speaks with Fr. Donald Haggerty WATCH HERE

March 2, 2022 | Virtual Event: Why We Need Lent WATCH HERE

February 23, 2022 | Virtual Event: Walking with Moms: Six Months into the Texas Heartbeat Bill WATCH HERE

January 21, 2022 | Washington, D.C.: March for Life

January 20, 2022 | Washington, D.C.: March for Life Lunch with Naomi Schaefer Riley

December 8, 2021 | Virtual Event: “Advent of the Heart” WATCH HERE

December 7, 2021 | Virtual Event: “Is Dobbs the new Roe?” WATCH HERE

December 1, 2021 | Washington, D.C.: Kathryn Jean Lopez gave remarks at the Dobbs rally on the Supreme Court steps | WATCH HERE

November 29, 2021 | Virtual Event Series on Ending Roe co-hosted by the Charlotte Lozier Institute WATCH PART THREE HERE

November 22, 2021  | Virtual Event Series on Ending Roe co-hosted by the Charlotte Lozier Institute WATCH PART TWO HERE

November 18, 2021 | New York, NY: The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision Book Talk

November 15, 2021 | Virtual Event Series on Ending Roe co-hosted by the Charlotte Lozier Institute WATCH PART ONE HERE

November 10, 2021 | Virtual Event: Millennial Nuns, co-hosted by the Catholic Information Center WATCH HERE

October 26, 2021 | Virtual Event: Book Talk Event on Diary of an American Exorcist WATCH HERE

September 16, 2021 | Virtual Event: Walking with Moms in Texas: An Encounter with the Human Coalition WATCH HERE

July 26, 2021 | Virtual Event: Dignity and Dementia: Mapping the Church’s Response to the Coming Crisis. Co-hosted by New City Press. WATCH HERE

June 28, 2021 | Virtual Event: Unanimous: Fulton v. Philadelphia and the Future of Religious Freedom. Co-hosted by The Heritage Foundation. WATCH HERE

June 2, 2021 | Virtual Event: Thoughts on A Life Worth Living: A Conversation with Archbishop Charles J. Chaput and Kathryn Jean Lopez | WATCH HERE 

March 31, 2021 | Virtual Event: Remembering William F. Buckley Jr. and Other Characters, Mostly Admirable with George Weigel co-hosted by Ignatius Press

March 25, 2021 | Virtual Event: The Equality Act – A War on Women? WATCH HERE

March 19, 2021 | Virtual Event: I Am With You: Lessons of Hope and Courage in Times of Crisis (Loyola Press, January 2021), with New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Kathryn Lopez. WATCH HERE

Mach 16, 2021 | Virtual Event: St. Joseph, Man of the Year. (St. Joseph’s day was March 19) A conversation between popular author and itinerant preacher Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., who is also the former editor of Magnificat, and Kathryn Jean Lopez. WATCH HERE

March 8, 2021 | Virtual Event: Was the Pope’s Iraq Visit a Game-Changer? With Luma Simms, Robert Nicholson, and Kathryn Jean Lopez. WATCH HERE

February 24, 2021 | Virtual Event: Can a Divided Country Unite for Kids in Foster Care? Co-hosted with AEI

February 3, 2021 | Virtual Event: What Does it Mean to be Pro-Life? Co-hosted by The Institute for Human Ecology (IHE) at The Catholic University of America. WATCH HERE

February 1, 2021 | Virtual Event: COVID Lockdowns and Unjust Religious Discrimination. Co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. WATCH HERE

January 28, 2021 | March for Life Virtual Lunch with leaders in the pro-life community. 

January 27, 2021 | Virtual Event: Reframing End-of-life Care During COVID. Co-hosted by the Catholic Information Center. WATCH HERE

January 26, 2021 | Virtual Event: What Does It Mean to Be Human? A Conversation with O. Carter Snead. Co-hosted by the Sheen Center. WATCH HERE

January 18, 2021 | Virtual Event: The Rebirth of the Civil Rights Movement | WATCH HERE

December 23, 2020 | Virtual Event: Making Sense of 2020: Made for Love, Loved by God | WATCH HERE

December 18, 2020 | Virtual Event: Making Sense of 2020: Loving Our Neighbor with Our Words – even in Politics, even on Social Media | WATCH HERE

December 16, 2020 | Virtual Event: Making Sense of 2020: Caring for the Orphan with Malka Groden and Naomi Schaefer Riley, hosted by Kathryn Jean Lopez | WATCH HERE

December 7, 2020 | Virtual Event: Making Sense of 2020: God in the Crisis WATCH HERE

November 30, 2020 | Virtual Event: Adoption and Foster Care in America: No Time to Waste with The Honorable David Schweikert, Paul Mulligan, Dr. Sharen Ford, and Kathryn Jean Lopez. Hosted in partnership with The Heritage Foundation.

November 24, 2020 | Virtual Event: What on earth do we have to be grateful for this year? with Kathryn Jean Lopez and Sisters of Life Sr. Magdalene Teresa and Sr. Mary Casey. 

November 20, 2020 | Virtual Event: Free to Foster Friday: Sibling Separation

November 19, 2020 | Virtual Event: God and Man and Coronavirus

November 13, 2020 | Virtual Event: Free to Foster Friday: Why Are Children in Philadelphia Without Homes? How Can We Do Better? with Lori Windham of Becket Law.

November 6, 2020 | Virtual Event: Free to Foster Friday: Is the Government Keeping Kids from Flourishing?

October 19, 2020 | Virtual Event: Hope for the Future: A Conversation on Holy Ground. Co-hosted by the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs and Birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

September 22, 2020 | Virtual Event: Announcing the Gospel to the World: A Conversation on the Papacy and the Road to Renewal and Reform in the Church. Hosted in partnership with the Ignatius Press. WATCH HERE

August 27, 2020 | Virtual Event: The Conservative Case for Prioritizing Paid Family Leave. Co-hosted with The Clapham Group. WATCH HERE

July 22, 2020 | Virtual Event: Convicted by Mercy Co-hosted with the Sheen Center WATCH HERE

July 15, 2020 | Virtual Event: The Next Pope and the Future of the Church and the World with George Weigel WATCH HERE

July 1, 2020 | Virtual Event: What’s Next for America? Co-hosted by the Sheen Center. WATCH HERE

June 9, 2020| Virtual Event: Is This a Culture of Life or Death We’re Living In? Coronavirus Considerations. WATCH HERE

May 28, 2020 | Virtual Event: Foster Care: An Essential Call. Co-hosted by the Catholic Information Center. WATCH HERE

May 27, 2020 | Virtual Event: A Ride Through the Real Life of Foster Care and Adoption: A Conversation on the new Roadside Attractions Film The Ride. Co-hosted by The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. Co-hosted by The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture and National Review Institute

May 6, 2020 | Virtual Event: Seeing Light in the Darkness — The Life of Prayer and Faith during Coronavirus Times A conversation with Father John Maria Devaney, O.P., a hospital chaplain from Dominican Healthcare Friars, and Kathryn Jean Lopez. Co-hosted by the Sheen Center. WATCH HERE

January 23, 2020 | Washington, D.C.: March for Life Luncheon featuring special guests NRI fellow, John McCormack and National Review’s Alexandra DeSanctis. Hosted by Kathryn Lopez.

November 14, 2019 | Washington, D.C.: A Conversation with Ivanka Trump and Ramesh Ponnuru on Paid Family Leave and Childcare. Introduction by Kathryn Lopez. Hosted at Google. WATCH HERE

November 13, 2019 | Washington, D.C.: Adopting a Culture of Life and Love: Protecting and Defending Vulnerable Children and Families Against the Cruelties of Indifference and Ideology WATCH HERE

November 8, 2019 | New York, NY: An Evening with Mary Eberstadt Presented by The Sheen Center and National Review Institute

November 4, 2019 | New York, NY: I Lived on Parker Avenue Presented by The Sheen Center, Human Life Review, and National Review Institute

October 11, 2019 | New York, NY: Alienated America by Tim Carney Presented by The Sheen Center and National Review Institute

October 7, 2019 | New York, NY: Virtue in America: Hope Presented by The Sheen Center and National Review Institute

June 16, 2019 | Shirlington, VA: NRI and the Charlotte Lozier Institute co-hosted a briefing on adoption and foster care.

March 27, 2019 | Washington, D.C.: NRI hosted a private convening on adoption and foster care with activists, writers, and policymakers.

February 27, 2019 | New York, NY: NRI hosted a luncheon on adoption and foster care with expert practitioners, writers, and policymakers.

January 17, 2019 | Washington, D.C.: NRI hosted a private discussion on adoption and foster care at the March for Life. Speakers included Dr. Grazie Christie, Malka Groden, and Naomi Schaefer Riley.

October 24, 2018 | Washington, D.C.: “J.J. Hanson’s Living Legacy: Renewing Our Will to Live and Love Until the End of Life” Panel discussion on the fight against the legalization of physician-assisted suicide co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation and the Patients Rights Action Fund

July 18, 2018 | Washington, D.C.: The Heritage Foundation and National Review Institute co-hosted a book event event featuring Mona Charen moderated by NRI Senior Fellow, Kathryn Jean Lopez on Mona’s new book Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense.

May 24, 2018 | Washington, D.C.: National Review Institute hosted a forum on foster care in D.C. titled, “Fostering Hope: Exploring Faith-Based Solutions to Foster-Care Needs.” At this event we assembled leaders in faith, policy, and government communities to raise awareness, identify key challenges, establish new relationships, and highlight resources and solutions. This was the beginning of a conversation to encourage the faith community to find the most effective way to help children in need. View photos, videos and additional information here.

January 18, 2018 | Washington, D.C.: National Review Institute hosted a working lunch on the “State of the Pro-Life Movement” in conjunction with the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Kathryn Jean Lopez lead a discussion with NRI Senior Fellow Kevin D. Williamson about the state of the pro-life movement and the importance of making adoption and foster care heightened priorities.

September 22, 2017: National Review Institute and The Heritage Foundation co-hosted a conversation with Mark Regnerus, Author of Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy with NRI Senior Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez. Watch the discussion here.

September 14, 2017: National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center co-hosted a conversation on marriage moderated by NRI Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez. Speakers Mary Rose and Ryan Verret spoke about their innovative approach to marriage prep. Watch the discussion here.

May 22, 2017: National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center co-hosted NRI fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez for the third of a three-part panel discussion series on adoption. The third panel was focused on adoption and the foster care system. Watch the discussion here.

May 15, 2017: National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center co-hosted NRI Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez for the second of a three-part panel discussion series on adoption. The second panel was focused on celebrating birth mothers and adoptive families. Watch the discussion here.

May 8, 2017: National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center co-hosted NRI Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez for the first of a three-part panel discussion series on adoption. The first panel was focused on the factors associated with choosing to adopt. Watch the discussion here.

March 16, 2017: “Is Doctor-Prescribed Suicide Ever the Answer?” featuring Ryan T. Anderson, Kathleen Buckley Domingo, Sr. Constance Veit, and moderated by Kathryn Jean Lopez. Info and podcast here

February 27, 2017: “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Stories From the Frontline of the ‘Always Care, Never Kill’ Debate” expert panel explored the ramifications of the spread of legalized physician assisted suicide, hosted by Ryan T. Anderson and Kathryn Jean Lopez. Info and video here

January 2017: Conversation between NRI Fellows David French and Kathryn Jean Lopez featuring a roundtable of adoption experts.

Making Citizens Great Again: Today Americans are asking themselves what it means to be truly engaged in politics. This three-part series, co-sponsored by National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center, explored what it means to renew politics and develop a virtuous citizenry.

September 12, 2016: “Making Citizens Great Again (Part 1), Educating for Virtue: Forming the Next Generation of Virtuous Citizens.” NRI Senior Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez moderated a panel featuring John Garvey and Stephen D. Minnis.

September 19, 2016: “Making Citizens Great Again (Part 2), Creating Public Space for Virtue: Religious Liberty at the Heart of a Pluralistic Society.” Kevin J. “Seamus” Hasson delivered the keynote, followed by a panel featuring Sr. Constance Veit and Thomas Farr, moderated by NRI Senior Fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez.

September 26, 2016: “Making Citizens Great Again (Part 3), Leading with Virtue: Essentials for Virtuous Statesmanship.” NRI senior fellow Kathryn Jean Lopez moderated a panel featuring Chad Pecknold and Stephen P. White.

June 28, 2016: It’s Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies book discussion, co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation and featuring Kathryn Jean Lopez, Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., and author Mary Eberstadt. Info and video here.

May 11, 2016: “Next Steps for Addressing ISIS Genocide,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.

March 15, 2016: A conversation on women and flourishing featuring Heather Higgins, Jennifer Marshall, and Kathryn Jean Lopez

January 20, 2016: Former Texas Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson and Kathryn Jean Lopez on radical mercy in Washington, D.C., convening national leaders just before the March for Life.

December 3, 2015: “Christian Martyrs Today: Help for the Persecuted,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.

October 29, 2015: “Beyond Planned Parenthood – Alternatives for Women,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.

October 26, 2015: Archbishop William E. Lori and Kathryn Jean Lopez on Pope Francis’s recent historic visit to the United States and his discussion of marriage, family, and religious liberty in America.

September 22, 2015: Helen Alvaré and Kathryn Jean Lopez on the future of marriage and family, the Humanum approach, Pope Francis’s visit and how it might work to renew family life and our public conversations about it in the United States.

September 17, 2015: “Papal Visit Discussion on Marriage and Family,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation, featuring Ryan T. Anderson, C.C. Pecknold, and Roger Severino.

August 27, 2015: Austen Ivereigh (author of The Great Reformer) and Francis X. Maier on Pope Francis in America.

July 15, 2015: Robert P. George and Kirsten Powers (author of The Silencing) on free speech and religious liberty in NYC.

May 2, 2015: Conversation with Bill Mumma (Becket Fund for Religious Liberty) and Eric Metaxas and “Moral Foundations of a Free Society” panel at the NRI 2015 Ideas Summit.

March 30, 2015: “Living Life to Its Fullest: Supporting the Sick and Elderly in their Most Vulnerable Hours,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.

February 3, 2015: New York City Salon featuring Eric Metaxas, Sean Fieler, and Mona Charen.

January 20, 2015: “Welcoming Every Life: Choosing Life after an Unexpected Prenatal Diagnosis,” featuring a keynote address from Carly Fiorina, co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.

September 30, 2014: “Strengthening Society: What Progress on Life Can Teach Us for Challenges Facing the Family,” co-hosted with The Heritage Foundation. Info and video here.