About the Acton InstituteThe Acton Institute is a think-tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.This direction recognizes the benefits of a limited government, but also the beneficent consequences of a free market. It embraces an objective framework of moral values, but also recognizes and appreciates the subjective nature of economic value. It views justice as a duty of all to give the one his due but, more importantly, as an individual obligation to serve the common good and not just his own needs and wants. In order to promote a more profound understanding of the coming together of faith and liberty, Acton involves members of religious, business, and academic spheres in its various seminars, publications, and academic activities. It is our hope that by demonstrating the compatibility of faith, liberty, and free economic activity, religious leaders and entrepreneurs can contribute by helping to shape a society that is secure, free, and virtuous.Acton InstituteACTN_f8def728-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea00The Acton Institute is a 501c3 tax exempt organization. Over 80% of our funding comes from the generous contributions of individual Acton supporters.Father Robert A. SiricoOUR HISTORY ~ The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty was founded in 1990 in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Father Robert A. Sirico and Kris Alan Mauren.Kris Alan MaurenJohn Emerich Edward Dalberg ActonThe Acton Institute is named in honor of John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834-1902), 1st Baron Acton of Aldenham and the historian of freedom. Known as “the magistrate of history,” Lord Acton was one of the great personalities of the nineteenth century. Widely considered one of the most learned Englishmen of his time, Lord Acton made the history of liberty his life’s work.The most notable conclusion of Acton’s work is that political liberty is the essential condition and guardian of religious liberty. He thereby points to the union of faith and liberty, which has been the inspiration for the mission of the Acton Institute. Father Sirico sums up the Institute’s purpose: “Acton realized that economic freedom is essential to creating an environment in which religious freedom can flourish. But he also knew that the market can function only when people behave morally. So faith and freedom must go hand in hand. As he put it, ‘Liberty is the condition which makes it easy for conscience to govern’".Acton MANAGEMENT COUNCILKaren AbbsDIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATIONKevin R. AugustynDIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENTStephen P. Barrows, PhDCHIEF OPERATING OFFICERAlejandro A. Chafuen, PhDMANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONALDan Churchwell, M.A.DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM OUTREACHSamuel Gregg, D.Phil. (Oxon.)DIRECTOR OF RESEARCHEric KohnDIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONSKris Alan MaurenPRESIDENTMichael Matheson MillerSENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, PRODUCER OF POVERTY, INC.Rev. Robert A. SiricoPRESIDENT EMERITUSThomas L. Vogt, CPADIRECTOR OF FINANCEActon STAFFMustafa AkyolAFFILIATE SCHOLARDaniel BaasMEDIA PRODUCTION SPECIALISTHunter Baker, J.D., PhDAFFILIATE SCHOLARAnne Rathbone BradleyAFFILIATE SCHOLARAnthony B. Bradley, PhDRESEARCH FELLOWVictor V. ClaarAFFILIATE SCHOLARDave CooperINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGERRita De VecchiSPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATORRachel FergusonAFFILIATE SCHOLARShayna FieldsFOUNDATION RELATIONS COORDINATORMel FlikkemaSENIOR ADVISOR, ABRAHAM KUYPER TRANSLATION SOCIETYSonny GastEXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICERGabriel GeageaPRODUCERKristine GoffosDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGERNoah GouldALUMNI RELATIONS MANAGERJoshua GregorINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSISTANTKatharine HargerEXECUTIVE ASSISTANTAndrew HouserOPERATIONS COORDINATORKayla KaseskaEXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICERJim HealyCHICAGO REPRESENTATIVEDan HuggerLIBRARIAN AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATEColette LarkPROGRAMS, CONFERENCE COORDINATORRonjour LockeAFFILIATE PASTORNathan MechPROGRAM OUTREACH PROJECT MANAGERSarah NegriRESEARCH PROJECT COORDINATORAmanda (Weaver) OettingEXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICERDylan PahmanEXECUTIVE EDITOR OF JMM, RESEARCH FELLOWCharissa (Romens) Reul, CMPINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CONSULTANTAnthony SacramoneEXECUTIVE EDITORMichael SeveranceOPERATIONS MANAGERStephanie SladeFELLOW IN LIBERAL STUDIESLuke StrobelPROGRAMS, CONFERENCE COORDINATORBob ThomsonWEB DEVELOPERRachael Toel, CNAPSTAFF ACCOUNTANTDiane Baum VerploeghEXTERNAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATEActon BOARD OF DIRECTORSKyle R. BodeTHE KERN FAMILY FOUNDATIONNathan BondRIFLE PAPER CO.John P. CroweJOHN P. CROWE COMPANYRick DeVosWAKESTREAM VENTURESDavid A. DurellTHE GEORGE EDWARD DURELL FOUNDATIONNathaniel FischerNF MACROLeslie B. GravesBALLOTPEDIA.ORGFrank J. Hanna, IIIHANNA CAPITAL, LLCJ.C. HuizengaNATIONAL HERITAGE ACADEMIESDavid C. HumphreysTAMKO BUILDING PRODUCTS, INC.John C. Kennedy, IIIAUTOCAM CORPORATIONKris A. MaurenACTON INSTITUTEMichael MuraskiKENT MANUFACTURING COMPANYRobert A. SiricoACTON INSTITUTEIndividual liberty and sustained by religious principles_f8def9f8-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea00To promote a free and virtuous society_f8defb4c-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea00Religious PrinciplesCORE PRINCIPLES ~ The Acton Institute was founded on the basis of ten Core Principles, integrating Judeo-Christian Truths with Free Market Principles.DignityDIGNITY OF THE PERSON - The human person, created in the image of God, is individually unique, rational, the subject of moral agency, and a co-creator. Accordingly, he possesses intrinsic value and dignity, implying certain rights and duties for both himself and other persons. These truths about the dignity of the human person are known through revelation, but they are also discernible through reason.SocietySOCIAL NATURE OF THE PERSON - Although persons find ultimate fulfillment only in communion with God, one essential aspect of the development of persons is our social nature and capacity to act for disinterested ends. The person is fulfilled by interacting with other persons and by participating in moral goods. There are voluntary relations of exchange such as market transactions that realize economic value. These transactions may give rise to moral value as well. There are also voluntary relations of mutual dependence, such as promises, friendships, marriages, and the family, which are moral goods. These, too, may have other sorts of value, such as religious, economic, aesthetic, and so on.InstitutionsIMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS - Since persons are by nature social, various human persons develop social institutions. The institutions of civil society, especially the family, are the primary sources of a society's moral culture. These social institutions are neither created by nor derive their legitimacy from the state. The state must respect their autonomy and provide the support necessary to ensure the free and orderly operation of all social institutions in their respective spheres.ActionHUMAN ACTION - Human persons are by nature acting persons. Through human action, the person can actualize his potentiality by freely choosing the moral goods that fulfill his nature.Human NatureSIN - Although human beings in their created nature are good, in their current state they are fallen and corrupted by sin. The reality of sin makes the state necessary to restrain evil. The ubiquity of sin, however, requires that the state be limited in its power and jurisdiction. The persistent reality of sin requires that we be skeptical of all utopian "solutions" to social ills such as poverty and injustice.LawRULE OF LAW AND THE SUBSIDIARY ROLE OF GOVERNMENT - The government's primary responsibility is to promote the common good, that is, to maintain the rule of law and to preserve basic duties and rights. The government's role is not to usurp free actions, but to minimize those conflicts that may arise when the free actions of persons and social institutions result in competing interests. The state should exercise this responsibility according to the principle of subsidiarity. This principle has two components. First, jurisdictionally broader institutions must refrain from usurping the proper functions that should be performed by the person and institutions more immediate to him. Second, jurisdictionally broader institutions should assist individual persons and institutions more immediate to the person only when the latter cannot fulfill their proper functions.WealthCREATION OF WEALTH - Material impoverishment undermines the conditions that allow humans to flourish. The best means of reducing poverty is to protect private property rights through the rule of law. This allows people to enter into voluntary exchange circles in which to express their creative nature. Wealth is created when human beings creatively transform matter into resources. Because human beings can create wealth, economic exchange need not be a zero-sum game.LibertyECONOMIC LIBERTY - Liberty, in a positive sense, is achieved by fulfilling one's nature as a person by freely choosing to do what one ought. Economic liberty is a species of liberty so-stated. As such, the bearer of economic liberty not only has certain rights, but also duties. An economically free person, for example, must be free to enter the market voluntarily. Hence, those who have the power to interfere with the market are duty-bound to remove any artificial barrier to entry in the market, and also to protect private and shared property rights. But the economically free person will also bear the duty to others to participate in the market as a moral agent and in accordance with moral goods. Therefore, the law must guarantee private property rights and voluntary exchange.EconomyECONOMIC VALUE - In economic theory, economic value is subjective because its existence depends on it being felt by a subject. Economic value is the significance that a subject attaches to a thing whenever he perceives a causal connection between this thing and the satisfaction of a present, urgent want. The subject may be wrong in his value judgment by attributing value to a thing that will not or cannot satisfy his present, urgent want. The truth of economic value judgments is settled just in case that thing can satisfy the expected want. While this does not imply the realization of any other sort of value, something can have both subjective economic value and objective moral value.CulturePRIORITY OF CULTURE - Liberty flourishes in a society supported by a moral culture that embraces the truth about the transcendent origin and destiny of the human person. This moral culture leads to harmony and to the proper ordering of society. While the various institutions within the political, economic, and other spheres are important, the family is the primary inculcator of the moral culture in a society.PublicationsProduce publications_f8defc82-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea001The Acton Institute produces a diverse set of publications including editorials, journals, and newsletters to inform and educate readers about the relationship between individual liberty and religious principles, which promote and sustain the free and virtuous society._f8defdcc-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea00EventsHost events_f8deff0c-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea002The Acton Institute hosts a wide array of engaging and award winning conferences, dinner events, lectures, roundtables, video screenings, and more, featuring prolific speakers and experts in the fields of economics, theology, and philosophy, among others._f8df0074-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea00ResearchClarify the foundations of a free, humane, and virtuous society_f8df01be-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003ScholarsActon ResearchActon Research accommodates in-house and externally-based scholars from a variety of nationalities, Christian confessions, and intellectual disciplines. These disciplines include theology, philosophy, history, economics, and law. The investigations of these scholars attempt to clarify the foundations of a free, humane, and virtuous society. Their work is guided by an uncompromising commitment to human dignity, economic liberty, the recognition of the benefits of a limited government, the pursuit of truth, and the compatibility of faith and reason.VisionPromote a vision of the free and virtuous society and the benefits of individual liberty guided by religious principles_f8df0308-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.1Acton Research provides the Acton Institute with the intellectual tools (including books, monographs, articles, and op-ed pieces as well as a refereed academic journal, the Journal of Markets & Morality) it needs to promote its distinct vision of the free and virtuous society, and the benefits of individual liberty guided by religious principles. Primary reference sources for Acton Research include Christian social ethics, the natural law tradition, and various schools of thought that explore and uphold the benefits of economic liberty. Acton Research has sought to expand knowledge of the economic thought of sixteenth and seventeenth century Roman Catholic and Protestant scholastic theologians. It has also drawn attention to the insights of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the wisdom of the Jewish Tradition.Intellectual ToolsProvide books, monographs, articles, and op-ed pieces as well as a refereed academic journal, the Journal of Markets & Morality_f8df04f2-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.1.1ProgramsOversee the Acton Institute's programs_f8df0646-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.2Acton Research also oversees the Acton Institute's various scholarship programs, organizes occasional conferences, and seeks to cultivate young scholars interested in the same constellation of ideas as the Acton Institute. Acton's scholars also liaise extensively with university professors and instructors around the world who share the same intellectual interests. Scholars associated with Acton lecture regularly on a variety of themes at Acton Institute events, both in America and around the world. They are available to speak on appropriate themes to academic and non-academic audiences, and may be contacted at the Acton Institute.ScholarshipsOversee scholarship programs_f8df079a-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.2.1ConferencesOrganize conferences_f8df090c-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.2.2Young ScholarsCultivate young scholars_f8df0a6a-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea003.2.3Young ScholarsOther Activities_f8df0bbe-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea004In addition to publications, events, and research, Acton also produces film series, videos, engages in international outreach, translation projects, and much more!Films & VideosProduce film series, videos_f8df0d26-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea004.1OutreachEngage in international outreach_f8df13de-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea004.2TranslationsConduct translation projects_f8df1690-dde1-11ec-9be1-be822583ea004.32022-05-27https://www.acton.org/aboutOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net