About

The Institute’s mission is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society.

The inaugural issue of First Things was published in March 1990. The magazine’s founding editorial, “Putting First Things First,” can be found here. Today, First Things encompasses the print magazine, which is published ten times each year; firstthings.com, which publishes daily “web exclusive” articles; and two regular podcasts: Conversations with Mark Bauerlein and The Editor’s Desk.

The principal program of the Institute on Religion and Public Life is and will always remain First Things magazine. The journal shapes our other programming efforts, which have grown substantially in recent years. Each year the Institute sponsors and hosts a variety of educational programs in order to engage our friends, subscribers, and national influencers, as well as noted scholars and promising students.

These additional programs aim to achieve two primary objectives. First, they strengthen, develop, and enhance the intellectual core of the journal. Our seminars and Intellectual Retreats often include seminal First Things articles in their syllabi, in some cases enabling participants to discuss those pieces with their authors. Our lectures lead the public conversation by breaking new ground on topics of cultural and political import, such as Wilfred M. McClay’s 2021 Erasmus Lecture on “The Claims of Memory” and Joshua Mitchell’s 2022 First Things Lecture in Washington, D.C. on the pseudo-religious claims of identity politics.

Second, our programs foster community among our readers. As a journal of international circulation, First Things recognizes that it must take an active role in introducing readers to one another in order to cultivate a genuine intellectual community. There is something profound about these gatherings, where readers break bread together, read together, and pursue truth together. In our small way, First Things aims to strengthen and unify communities of religious believers, all in service to our purpose of amplifying religious voices in the public square.

Our current educational programs are:

Erasmus Lecture

which enters its 35th year and now comprises a poetry reading, a post-Lecture dinner for Editor’s Circle donors and leading scholars, and a next-day scholarly colloquium

Evangelicals and Catholics Together

which was established in 1994 and continues to convene prominent Protestant and Catholic scholars to publish public statements on critical theological, cultural, and political topics;

Junior Fellows program

which trains two recent graduates each year

executive seminars

Half-day executive seminars in cities around the country

Intellectual Retreats

Intensive weekend Intellectual Retreats

Lectures

First Things Lecture in Washington, D.C.;

Reading Group

Our reading group, which meets monthly from September through May, with both in-person and Zoom options available

Events

Other events, including arts events, book signings, and lectures at our Manhattan editorial office and around the country.

To learn more about the Institute on Religion and Public Life, please review our most recent Annual Report, which can be found here.

To subscribe to First Things, please visit firstthings.com/subscribe.

To donate to the Institute on Religion and Public Life, please visit supportfirstthings.com or contact Carter Skeel, Director of Development, at cskeel@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985. The Institute’s EIN is 52-1628303.