The future of America depends on the strengthening of its core institutions—its families and communities, its schools, churches, and synagogues. What role do Jews and Christians have to play in this effort of American renewal, both for the sake of the continuity of their own religious communities, but also for the sake of the larger society? Eric Cohen, the co-chair of the Jewish Leadership Conference and executive director of the Tikvah Fund, is joined by the president of the Philos Project, Robert Nicholson, in a conversation moderated by Yuval Levin, editor of National Affairs, to think practically and hopefully about the challenges that traditional religious communities face, and what steps they can take to strengthen the institutions upon which American confidence depends.
Eric Cohen
Eric Cohen has been the executive director of the Tikvah Fund since 2007. He was the founder and remains editor-at-large of the New Atlantis, founding publisher of the Jewish Review of Books and Mosaic, and currently serves on the board of directors of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Witherspoon Institute, and National Affairs and on the Editorial Advisory Board of First Things. Mr. Cohen has published in numerous academic and popular journals, magazines, and newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Mosaic, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, First Things, and numerous others. He is the author of In the Shadow of Progress: Being Human in the Age of Technology (2008) and co-editor of The Future is Now: America Confronts the New Genetics (2002). He was previously managing editor of the Public Interest and served as a senior consultant to the President’s Council on Bioethics.
Robert Nicholson
Robert Nicholson is the Executive Director of The Philos Project, an American nonprofit that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement in the Middle East. Robert is also the co-publisher of Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy. He holds a BA in Hebrew Studies from Binghamton University, and both a JD and MA in Middle Eastern history from Syracuse University. A former U.S. Marine and a 2012-2013 Tikvah Fellow, Robert has published articles in, among other places, Mosaic, The American Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. His work focuses on spreading the vision of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Middle East based on freedom and rule of law.
Yuval Levin
Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founding and current editor of National Affairs, he is also a senior editor of The New Atlantis and a contributing editor to National Review. His essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Commentary, and he is the author of several books on political theory and public policy—most recently A Time to Build. Mr. Levin served on the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush and has also been Executive Director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer. He holds a B.A. from American University and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.