As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, CIT partners with the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government (CCCG) at the University of Notre Dame and the Carroll Forum for Citizenship and Public Life at the Catholic University of America to host a major academic symposium examining Catholicism and the American founding.
Titled Endowed by Their Creator: Catholicism, the Declaration of Independence, and the American Experiment at 250, the symposium will take place Thursday, April 9, 2026, on Catholic University’s campus in Washington, D.C. The gathering is intended to serve as a premier scholarly forum during the semiquincentennial year, convening leading academics, jurists, and public intellectuals to consider the philosophical and theological foundations of the American experiment in constitutional self-government.
“This anniversary provides an opportunity not merely for celebration, but for serious intellectual examination,” said Phillip Muñoz, director of the CCCG. “The Declaration advances claims about human equality, rights, and moral accountability that remain foundational to our political life. The Catholic intellectual tradition has long engaged these same questions. Our hope is to foster a careful and rigorous conversation about their relationship and their continued significance for constitutional government.”
“At 250 years, we are called to reflect more deeply on the principles that have shaped the American experiment,” CIT Director J. Joel Alicea said. “By bringing scholars of Catholic thought into dialogue with the Declaration’s arguments, this symposium aims to clarify the moral and philosophical foundations of our constitutional order and to explore the resources available for its renewal.”
The daylong program will begin with Mass at 9:15 a.m. in St. Vincent Chapel, followed by three academic panels and two keynote conversations.
The first panel, “The Declaration and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” will feature Bradley Lewis of Catholic University; Vincent Phillip Muñoz of Notre Dame; and D. C. Schindler of the John Paul II Institute, moderated by Michael Promisel of Catholic University.
A lunch keynote and fireside chat will follow, featuring Robert P. George of Princeton University in conversation with his former student, Fr. Henry Stephan, O.P. of Notre Dame.
The second panel, “The Declaration and Constitutional Interpretation,” will include Kevin Walsh of Catholic University; Judge Whitney Hermandorfer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; and Charlie Capps of Arizona State University, moderated by Alicea.
The third panel, “Catholic Social Thought and the American Experiment,” will feature Russell Hittinger of Catholic University; Kenneth Grasso of Texas State University; and Ryan T. Anderson of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, moderated by CUA’s Sarah Gustafson.
The symposium will conclude with a private dinner for students and alumni of the Notre Dame and Catholic University programs with Brett Kavanaugh, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Kavanaugh, who was nominated to the Court by President Donald J. Trump, took his seat on October 6, 2018.
All sessions will be recorded and made available for later viewing to ensure broad access for those unable to attend in person.
