“George Washington: Champion of Religious Liberty” with John Berlau



The Basilica of Saint Mary hosted a lecture with John Berlau titled “George Washington: Champion of Religious Liberty” on February 9, 2021.

Throughout his life of public service, George Washington promoted freedom for Catholics, Jews and other religious minorities. Even though he was not Catholic, Washington made a financial contribution towards the establishment of our parish at the request of his friend and aide-de-camp Colonel John Fitzgerald.

In a recent piece in National Review, Berlau wrote that the Basilica of Saint Mary is a “monument to Washington’s vision of religious freedom.”

Berlau is the author of the new book George Washington, Entrepreneur. You can purchase a copy of the book on the Macmillan website and Amazon.

About John Berlau

John Berlau is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where he researches financial regulation and its effects on American consumers, investors, and entrepreneurs. He is the author of George Washington, Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father’s Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World, published in 2020 by St. Martin’s Press. The book chronicles the innovative businesses started by George Washington as a private citizen — including whiskey distilling, mule breeding, and manufacturing branded flour — and shows how he rooted the U.S. in innovation and entrepreneurship.

He is a frequent guest on many radio and television programs including CNBC’s “The Call,” “Power Lunch” and “Closing Bell,” Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” and Fox Business’ “Cavuto” and “Willis Report.” He has testified on the impact of financial regulation before the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. He is a recognized expert on the phenomenon of crowdfunding, and has spoken at conferences including Money 20/20 in Las Vegas and the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) Summit in Washington, D.C. He is the author of the widely cited paper “Declaration of Crowdfunding Independence: Finance of the People, by the People, and for the People.”

Before joining CEI,  Berlau was an award-winning financial and political journalist. He served as Washington correspondent for Investor’s Business Daily and as a staff writer for Insight magazine, published by The Washington Times. In 2002, he received Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism from Washington’s National Press Club. He was a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2003. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994 with degrees in journalism and economics.

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