Contributor(s): Gordon Brown, Professor John Sexton | John Sexton argues that a secular dogmatism has come to dominate political discourse, and the enterprise of thought is in danger. He then argues that our universities, the stewards of thought, are the last best hope to stem this tide of dogmatism, and that they can effect reform in the society around them by inculcating the values of secular ecumenism in their citizens and by sending those citizens forth, one generation after another, to carry those values into society. John Sexton served as fifteenth President of New York University from 2002 through 2015. He is NYU’s Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus of the Law School. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, President Emeritus Sexton also serves on the board of the Institute of International Education and is past Chair of the American Council on Education. In 2015, he received the TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, recognizing outs
