Mark Hall, author of works on religious freedom and American history, opens annual Research Week

Author and keynote speaker Dr. Mark Hall addressed Liberty University students, staff, and faculty Monday morning in the Jerry Falwell Library’s Lower Atrium to kick off the school’s annual Research Week sponsored by the Center for Research & Scholarship, the Graduate School, and Jerry Falwell Library.

“I truly love Liberty and what this school stands for,” Hall said. “It’s a great initiative for undergraduate students to do research at their university. This will definitely benefit them in whatever they end up doing after college.”

Hall is a nationally recognized expert on religious freedom and has written and edited more than a dozen books pertaining to the subject. His primary research and writing interests are American political theory and the relationship between religion and politics.

Hall is the Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics and Faculty Fellow in the William Penn Honors Program at George Fox University and is associated faculty at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and senior fellow at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. In addition to teaching politics and honors, he is director of the John Dickinson Forum for the Study of America’s Founding Principles. Hall received a B.A. in political science from Wheaton College and a Ph.D. in government from the University of Virginia.

During his Monday morning address, Hall expounded on his research for the recent bestseller, “Did America Have a Christian Founding?,” and discussed how his work disparages the assertion that America’s founders were deists who wanted strict separation of church and state. He explained that the founders’ political ideas were deeply influenced by their Christian convictions.

“The founders believed that religious liberty must be robustly protected. … Christianity will flourish if it is set free from state control,” he said.

Hall explained that although we may not have written proof of the founders’ testimonies in order to know their true relationships with God, their decisions and actions certainly imply that these men were following the Lord.

“What I’m interested in is whether they had Christian ideas,” he said.

He said they prioritized faith and the ability to worship the Lord freely.

“I’m not saying that they got (everything) exactly right, but I’m saying that they got it pretty much right when they said that the religious liberty of every individual must be protected,” he said.

Hall said that a dive into U.S. history will answer his book title’s question.

“Did America have a Christian founding? I think the answer is absolutely yes,” he said.

Following Hall’s address, students were dismissed for the beginning presentations starting at 1 p.m.

Research Week is a multidisciplinary annual event open to both residential and online students. First offered in 2016, the event has expanded with this year’s number of presentations coming in at an all-time high of 270. This year will also offer a new category featuring remote presentations for online students.

Poster and oral presentations are being held primarily in the Jerry Falwell Library and will continue Tuesday-Wednesday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday. Performing arts presentations will take place in the Center for Music and the Worship Arts Concert Hall on Thursday. View the full schedule.