Our Epistemic Crisis: A Threat to Our Democracy and Christian Faith
Facilitator: Dr. Pat McCormick, Professor at Gonzaga University
Did you miss seeing Dr. McCormick live or want to revisit his presentations? We’ve posted the videos to our YouTube channel. You can find them in the playlist titled “Covenant’s Adult Ed Hour”.
Here is a summary of his topic for Oct 3 and 10th:
Democracies depend on citizens resolving conflicts by resorting to reason, evidence, and facts to persuade others to support laws and decisions. But many report that American democracy is threatened by an “epistemic” crisis in which large segments of our society feel entitled not just to their own opinions, but their own “alternative” facts. Since the 1980s a growing number of American fans of right-wing talk radio, cable news outlets, and social media have rejected the authority of mainstream media and journalism, academic scholarship, scientific research, and government agencies, rejecting evidence about the Climate Crisis, the threat of COVID 19, the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, and the reports about the January 6th insurrection.
Our sessions on October 3rd and 10th will explore the causes and dimensions of this “epistemic” crisis, examine how this crisis threatens democracy and undermines a number of core beliefs in Christian social thought, and suggests a number of possible ways for citizens and believers to respond to this crisis.
We are excited to welcome Dr. McCormick back to our adult education program at Covenant for two sessions. Pat teaches Christian ethics at Gonzaga, and, for those of you who have not heard him before at Covenant, it is stimulating and a joy to engage with his presentations. He has the ability to address complex ethical issues with a clarity and simplicity that is astounding.
We look forward to your joining us either in the sanctuary or on Zoom. The session will begin about 10 minutes after the close of the morning worship. The Zoom invitation will be included in our newsletter. Contact our office if you’d like to receive it.
