Whether you are a long-time friend of the Trinity Forum or visiting our website and learning about us for the first time, please enjoy this short video highlighting the exciting work of the Forum as we seek to connect thinking leaders with leading thinkers.
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“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
-- Ray Bradbury
It has long been an assumption that the act of reading is not only foundational but formational: that what and how we read helps determine how we think, and thus, who we are. But what happens when reading itself is in decline?
Sadly, it is not a theoretical question. A comprehensive report on reading compiled by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) a few years ago found that both reading and reading comprehension are in decline across all age groups, and that half of all young adults do not read any literature. It concluded: “although there has been measurable progress in recent years in reading ability at the elementary school level, all progress appears to halt as children enter their teenage years. There is a general decline in reading among teenage and adult Americans. Most alarming, both reading ability and the habit of regular reading have greatly declined among college graduates.”
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It appears that there is not only a loss of appetite for reading in general, but for “difficult” books and literary reading in particular. Reading tweets, texts, and posts is qualitatively different than reading a work that requires sustained attention and focus, abstract reasoning, or even the imaginative empathy demanded by a novel. The result is more distraction, less comprehension and retention of what is read, and... Read more
One way we seek to encourage the formation of the communities of thoughtful leaders that change culture is through encouraging and catalyzing discussion groups around the great ideas and great questions.
Already, there are new groups meeting around the country to join together for reflection, reading, and discussion. They make time to talk about what matters most. They come to know - and be enriched by - the great literature of history. And they grow in their faith as they learn to recognize and integrate the reality of the day-to-day with enduring truths.
Now, we have a new opportunity to make it even easier to launch a reading and discussion group! Our new Reading Group Starter Kit takes all of the guesswork and administrative hassle out of forming and leading a reading group.
Our Starter Kit provides easy how-to guides for planning and hosting regular meetings, guidelines for group facilitation, thought pieces on the importance of reading, story, and group discussion; discounts for Readings, and invitation templates and administrative help in sending invitations and registering participants.
Click here to learn more. Visit our online store to check out our Reading Group Starter Kits.
If you have other questions or want to discuss any of this in more depth simply contact Luci Laffitte, Trinity Forum Events Coordinator, at llaffitte@ttf.org or 202.944.9881.
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