Co-sponsored by Liberty Fund, Inc., this is an intellectually demanding and stimulating weekend colloquium that explores the foundations of liberty in a mixture of graduate-level text-based, guided Socratic discussion and lecture sessions.

  • This colloquium is for Acton alumni who are clergy and seminarians of all denominations, as well as church and charity workers.

Covid-19 Conference Information

  • The intent is to hold this program in-person with appropriate safety precautions according to the local and federal guidelines. All accepted attendees will be required to follow safe meeting guidelines provided by Acton Institute.
  • Individuals not comfortable with meeting in-person, or not able to follow Acton Institute's safe meeting guidelines, should not apply to this program.
  • Should local or federal regulations change, Acton Institute staff will communicate next steps in a timely fashion.

Evaluating the Idea of Social Justice

This colloquium on Evaluating the Idea of Social Justice will explore the idea of “social justice” and compare and evaluate it against the understanding this concept now evokes in contemporary debates about justice and political order. The all-encompassing claims made on behalf of social justice in these debates often translate into calls for the reduction of personal liberty and a concomitant increase in state power to distribute material goods and the resources of private enterprise in common.