SCOPER LECTURE

“I'm often asked, do I have hope? Do I have hope about the future? And I absolutely, absolutely have hope.” 

David French, March 22, 2026

Welcome to this year’s Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought at UVA. As you view the event video, you’ll  discover for yourself why David and Nancy French claim hope for our future.  You’ll have a front seat to story and song, humor and tears – deep questions and authentic insights.  We’re delighted that you’re here.

Watch the full event video on YouTube HERE.

Nancy French’s memoir, Ghosted: An American Story, has been named 2025 Christian Book of the Year.  She conducted a multi-year journalistic investigation into sexual abuse at a prominent Christian camp, has published for the nation’s most prominent newspapers and collaborated on multiple books for celebrities. Nancy is the co-author of The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics.

David French is an Opinion columnist for The New York Times, where he writes about law, culture, religion, and armed conflict. His most recent book, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.  David calls himself an evangelical conservative who believes in a classical liberal, pluralistic vision of American democracy in which people with deep religious, cultural, and moral differences can live and work together with equal legal protection and shared cultural tolerance. 

Get to know Nancy and David’s work; check out the media archive to listen to podcast episodes, watch videos, read articles and find books.

The Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought is an annual series building off the Capps Lectures that brings eminent speakers to the University to deliver public lectures exploring the breadth of Christian expression in the arenas of scholarship, science and medicine, the arts, and culture. The series is generously funded by Nancy and Stephen Scoper, M.D., through their gift to the University of Virginia, designated to Theological Horizons.