Dr. Francis Beckwith Wins Heritage Foundation Prize for Scholarship

June 7, 2024

Dr. Francis Beckwith, professor of philosophy in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences, has received one of 14 Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prizes presented in 2024 by the Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., seeks to carry out its mission to “formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense.” The Academic Prizes are part of its initiative to “support higher education professionals who advance research aligned with Heritage’s priority issue areas.”

“It is truly an honor to have my lifetime of scholarship recognized by the Heritage Foundation with such a generous prize,” said Beckwith, who joined the Baylor faculty in 2003 and serves as associate director of graduate studies in philosophy. “I am looking forward to joining the other 2024 recipients next month in Washington, D.C., in a summer colloquium at Heritage.”

The Foundation gives Academic Prize winners between $15,000 and $20,000 for being actively engaged in research and teaching that explores “economic freedom, the dignity of the person, human flourishing, constitutional governance, national sovereignty and other issues related to freedom, opportunity and traditional American values.”

Beckwith, who received the Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion from the American Academy of Religion in 2016 for his book “Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith,” is working on two new books to be published in 2025 –– “Defending Life” by Cambridge University Press and “A Catholic Engagement with Latter-day Saints” by Ignatius Press.