The Provost’s Readers Meet the Author Series Kicks-Off with Elisabeth Rain Kincaid’s “Law From Below”
On Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 12:15 p.m., the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost will present the first session of this year’s Readers Meet the Author series. Dr. Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning, and Associate Professor of Ethics, Faith, and Culture at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, will speak about her new book, “Law from Below: How the Thought of Francisco Suárez, SJ, Can Renew Contemporary Legal Engagement,” in conversation with J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus, Dr. Thomas Hibbs. The event will be held in the Schumacher Flex Commons of Moody Memorial Library and available online via Zoom Webinar.
“In this book, I seek to expand on how Christians think about our engagement in politics and with our legal system,” said Kincaid. “Often, we assume that the only options available to us are voting to get the candidates we prefer in power to impose better laws from the top down or challenging the system through protest.”
Kincaid’s book explains how the discourse between legislators and the community provides Christian activists with a broad array of options for constructive law-focused engagement in order to positively impact society.
“Drawing on the theological jurisprudence of Francisco Suárez, I explore other modes in which citizens, especially Christian communities, can come together to improve laws for the common good,” said Kincaid.
Kincaid earned her doctorate in Moral Theology and Christian Ethics from the University of Notre Dame. Alongside her directorship and work with the seminary, she is also an Affiliate Professor of Management at the Hankamer School of Business. Her current research focuses on the intersection of theological ethics, legal ethics and business ethics, virtue ethics, natural law, early modern theology, and theology of work and vocation. She has previously published articles in the Journal of Markets and Morality, the Scottish Journal of Theology, the Anglican Theological Review, and the Journal of Moral Theology.
This event is free and open to the public. Following the conversation, there will be a reception with light refreshments and a book signing. At the event, copies of “Law from Below: How the Thought of Francisco Suárez, SJ, Can Renew Contemporary Legal Engagement” will be available for purchase from the Baylor Bookstore.
The Readers Meet the Author Series is presented by the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost and hosted by the Baylor Libraries. The series fosters opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and others to gather for shared reflection and collegial conversation about big ideas.
For more information, visit provost.web.baylor.edu/rma.