Is the Church merely a voluntary association of like-minded individuals, or does her authority originate directly from Christ, transcending the civil state? On Driving Home the Faith, host Dr. Ken Craycraft welcomes William Haun, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, to discuss his book, Not to Caesar, but to Peter: Why the Catholic Church is a Perfect Society (Angelico Press).

Haun challenges John Locke’s influential definition of the church as a voluntary club, tracing how Christ’s divine commission shattered the ancient world’s state control over religion. He explains the classical political-philosophical concept of the Church as a "perfect" (or complete) society with inherent, sovereign authority. Haun warns against reducing faith to modern individualistic "rights talk" and highlights high-stakes Supreme Court cases—from the Little Sisters of the Poor to Catholic adoption agencies—where the Church’s institutional freedom to govern her own ministries faces ongoing legal challenge. Stream now to listen!