The 2025 Scoper Lecture in Christian Thought, “Open, Honest and Free: A Celebration of Theological Inquiry Across the University” featured Charles Marsh, PhD, Commonwealth Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia. The lecture was a deeply personal account of how moments of generous and generative intellectual, emotional, and civic encounter stand as an antidote to “closed society” experiences - and hold promise for the building of a healthier university, democracy, civic and emotional life. The event took place on March 29, 2025 in the Dome Room of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia.