The United States incarcerates far more individuals than any nation in the world at radically disparate rates for different racial groups. In this lecture, Dr. Lee will draw on the thought of Augustine to encourage new approaches toward criminal justice. Augustine’s understanding of personal sin stresses the possibility of redemption for individual wrongdoers, and his account of collective evil exposes systemic injustice as a pervasive feature of humanity’s fallen condition. These insights commend Christians’ solidarity with oppressed communities and the exercise of mercy and restorative practices in response to criminal offenses.

This lecture is sponsored by the Girod Chair of Western Theological Seminary in partnership with the Saint Benedict Institute.