Notre Dame Des Victoires

Like, I daresay, most of the English-speaking world, these past couple of years I’ve been watching episodes of The Crown, the beautifully filmed, marvelously written program on the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II. The series deals with the psychological dynamics within the royal family as well as with the cultural changes and political challenges that the Queen has faced in the course of her long reign. But what has been, at least to me, most surprising has been the insightful and sympathetic way in which it has addressed issues of faith. Especially in the first season, we saw the fairly frequent conflicts between Elizabeth’s devotion to her family and her role as head of the Church of England. In season two, there was a deeply affecting episode on the visit of Billy Graham to the UK in the mid-fifties. We saw that, despite reticence regarding the American evangelist…

Me atrevo a decir que, como la mayor parte del mundo angloparlante, estos dos últimos años he estado viendo episodios de The Crown, el programa maravillosamente filmado y escrito sobre la vida y los tiempos de la reina Isabel II. La serie trata de la dinámica psicológica de la familia real, así como de los cambios culturales y los retos políticos a los que se ha enfrentado la reina en el transcurso de su largo reinado. Pero lo que ha sido, al menos para mí, lo más sorprendente ha sido la manera perspicaz y comprensiva en que ha abordado las cuestiones de la fe. Especialmente en la primera temporada, vimos los conflictos bastante frecuentes entre la devoción de Isabel a su familia y su papel como cabeza de la Iglesia de Inglaterra. En la segunda temporada, hubo un episodio profundamente conmovedor de la visita de Billy Graham al Reino Unido…

A couple of weeks ago, I had the distinct privilege of addressing an audience of Senators, Representatives, and Capitol Hill staffers in a beautiful room at the Library of Congress. This event was made possible by two Congressmen, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, a Democrat, and Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, a Republican. Both had seen videos of the speeches I had given at Facebook and Google Headquarters and wanted something similar for those who work in government. At the outset of my talk, I specified that I would not be addressing the hot button issues that so often dominate discussions of religion and politics. I was quick to point out that this is not because I think those questions are unimportant or that they shouldn’t eventually be addressed. But I insisted that the rush to those matters around which there is radical polarization effectively precludes…