Acton Institute PowerBlog - Entries tagged as acton lecture series

Looking for Happiness, Finding Faith

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dr. Arthur C. Brooks spoke about "happiness" at an Acton Lecture Series event last week. Dr. Brooks, a professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University and a visiting scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, presented evidence which suggests that religion is the greatest factor in general human happiness in the United States. Religion, argues Dr. Brooks, is essential to human flourishing in the United States and public secularism should be strongly guarded against by everyone - religious or not.

He is the author of, most recently, Gross National Happiness (2008) and Who Really Cares? (2006) published by Basic Books.

We were able to interview Dr. Brooks about happiness - watch it now and see what you think!

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Dr. Brooks' lecture on happiness is also available for your viewing pleasure.

Posted by Jonathan Spalink in News and Events at 16:04 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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acton lecture series, faith, happiness, human flourishing, religion

2008 Acton Lecture Series

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The schedule for the 2008 Acton Lecture Series has been released. The following is a quick overview of the line-up. Detailed descriptions of these lectures as well as time, location, and ticket information are available at the Acton Lecture Series page on Acton’s Web site.

	Freedom, the Family and the Market: A Humane Response to the Socialist Attack on the Family Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse January 3, 2008
	Wealth, Work and the Church Dr. Glenn Sunshine February 14, 2008
	The Rise (and Eventual Downfall) of the New Religious Left Rev. Robert A. Sirico March 13, 2008
	Can We Repair What’s Wrong with our Health Care System through Christian Principles? Mrs. Grace Marie Turner April 10, 2008
	Looking for Happiness, Finding Faith Dr. Arthur C. Brooks June 22, 2008
	Asia: Lessons and Opportunities Mr. Michael Miller July 24, 2008
	The Birth of Freedom: A look at Judeo-Christian Tradition to the Rise of Political and Economic Freedom in the West Dr. Jay Richards August 14, 2008
	What’s Wrong With Latin America? Dr. Samuel Gregg September 18, 2008

Posted by Jonathan Spalink in Programs at 14:09 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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acton lecture series, als, events

Acton Media Roundup

Saturday, September 1, 2007

A couple of items to bring to your attention, both involving Dr. Jay Richards:

First, in case you missed last week’s event, you can listen to Dr. Richards’ Lord Acton Lecture Series address - entitled “Myths Christians Believe About Wealth and Poverty” - by clicking here (12 mb mp3 file).
For those of you in the Chicagoland area, the Chicago premier of The Call of the Entrepreneur is next week Wednesday, September 5th at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. Jay made an appearance on WYLL radio in Chicago on Friday, joining host Sandy Rios to discuss the film. You can hear that interview by clicking here (2.6 mb mp3 file), and you can register online for Wednesday’s showing by clicking here.

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in News and Events at 00:01 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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acton audio, acton lecture series, acton media roundup, dr. jay richards

2007 Acton Lecture Series: The Crisis of Europe: Benedict XVI's Analysis and Solution

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Dr. Samuel Gregg

Dr. Samuel Gregg - “Acton’s Chief Thinker,” according to our Executive Director Kris Mauren - put his thinking skills on display yesterday as part of the 2007 Acton Lecture Series, delivering an address entitled “The Crisis of Europe: Benedict XVI’s Analysis and Solution.”

By any standard of civilization growth and decline, Europe is in crisis. Marked by collapsing birthrates, stagnating economies, and denial of its historical roots, Western Europe appears headed for cultural suicide. In his lecture, Dr. Gregg outlined Pope Benedict’s analysis of Europe’s contemporary problems, and discusses the his proposed remedies. If you weren’t able to attend the lecture in person, you can listen online by clicking here (10 mb mp3 file).

You’ll also want to register for our next Lecture Series event, as we’ll be hearing from Mr. Ralph Hauenstein, who will discuss his experiences serving under General Dwight Eisenhower as chief of the Intelligence Branch in the Army’s European theater of operations during World War II. As a history buff, I’ve had this one marked on my calendar for quite a while, no doubt much like a lot of other people. Here’s the link for more information and to register for the event.

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in News and Events at 15:46 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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2007 acton lecture series, acton lecture series, benedict xvi, europe, mr. ralph hauenstein, western civilization, world war ii

The Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility

Monday, February 19, 2007

Mr. Fred L. Smith, Jr - Clicking this link will open a new window with a video player.

Last week, Marc posted audio from the Fred Smith’s presentation at the 2007 Acton Lecture Series. Mr. Smith, president and founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, spoke about Corporate Social Responsibility and the dangers associated with the socialization of the corporation. Video of this event is now available online and for download. You can watch it online, (a new window with a Flash video player will open), you can download the file via Acton’s podcast, or download directly as an MP4 file (60Mb). Enjoy our video goodness!

Posted by Jonathan Spalink in News and Events at 11:16 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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acton lecture series, corporate social responsibility, corporation, csr, environmentalism, fred smith, washington

2007 Acton Lecture Series: The Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Mr. Fred L. Smith, Jr. at the 2007 Acton Lecture Series

Mr. Fred L. Smith, Jr. of the Competitive Enterprise Institute was today’s guest speaker as part of the 2007 Acton Lecture Series here in Grand Rapids, speaking on the topic of The Irresponsibility of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Smith argues that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become the new rationale for old policies of transforming private firms into public utilities—and forcing them to perform whatever duties are politically attractive at any one time. The corporation is an extremely valuable way of organizing large numbers of people to produce goods and services efficiently—that is, to create wealth. That wealth then flows into the hands of shareholders, workers, customers, and suppliers, who are then empowered to advance their own individual goals and values. According to Smith, to “socialize” this process is to reduce the ability of individuals to advance their goals, placing the values of politicians as paramount. Nothing would do more to reduce the world’s ability to address poverty and pollution than to force CSR onto the world economy.

You can listen to his address by clicking here (7.4 mb mp3 file). We’ll be posting video of today’s event tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in News and Events at 16:39 | Comments (4) | Trackback

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Acton Lecture Series, Business, Corporate Social Responsibility

2007 Acton Lecture Series: The Religion of Politics

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Dr. Michel Casey - Clicking this link will open a new window with a video player.

Dr. Michael Casey was in Grand Rapids today to deliver the first address of the 2007 Acton Lecture Series, which was entitled The Religion of Politics. Dr. Casey is a Permanent Fellow at the John Paul II Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and Private Secretary to Cardinal George Pell, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He is currently serving as a Visiting Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and was also awarded the 2002 Novak Award by the Acton Institute for his contributions to thinking that concerns the relationship between religion and economic liberty.

In his address, Dr. Casey examines the marginalization of traditional religious believers in political debates in the west as well as the ascent of secularist thinking that, far from ending the influence of religion on society, has almost become a religious system in its own right.

You can listen to today’s lecture by clicking here (12 mb mp3 file).

[Update: Video of Dr. Casey’s lecture is now available through the link above.]

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in Programs at 12:06 | Leave a comment | Trackback

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Acton Lecture Series, church and state, dr. michael casey, politics, religion