Taking Rites Seriously: Neither Theocracy nor Liberal Hegemony

In this plenary address from the 2021 Austrian Economic Research Conference, Francis Beckwith explains the many threats to natural rights that have evolved out of political authorities' refusal to understand and recognize the meaning and importance of religious rites.

The Lou Church Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Lou Church Foundation. Recorded at the Mises Institute on March 20, 2021. Includes an introduction by Joseph T. Salerno.

The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian School, bringing together leading scholars doing research in this vibrant and influential intellectual tradition. The conference is hosted by the Mises Institute at its campus in Auburn, Alabama, and is directed by Joseph Salerno, professor of economics at Pace University and academic vice president of the Mises Institute.