History of the Organization

Christians in Political Science (CPS) was launched as a formal organization in the fall of 1991 by a group of political scientists from six different colleges and universities. From the outset, the group defined "Christian" in both narrow and broad terms: Christianity was narrowly defined in its traditional sense rather than the broad cultural sense, but was broadly defined to include all Christians who believe in the historic truths of the faith, irrespective of specific tradition or denomination. The group drew up a statement of faith to reflect these intentions:

We believe that God is the creator and sustainer of all that is; Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully God and fully human, and through his death and bodily resurrection is the redeemer of fallen humanity; and the Holy Spirit led the authors of the Bible in writing an authoritative guide for faith and conduct, and continues to guide the church of Jesus Christ today.

Since 1991, CPS has grown steadily as an organization. It published its first newsletter in the fall of 1991, and the membership adopted a set of by-laws in the fall of 1993. The first general membership meeting was also held in 1993, in Washington, D.C., at the time of the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. The first slate of officers was elected in the spring of 1994. Presently over two hundred political scientists hold membership in the organization.

From the beginning, the goals of the organization have been to encourage and stimulate members to integrate their Christian faith in their scholarship and teaching, and to enhance contact and fellowship among Christian political scientists.