Philosophy

The Philosophy of the Board of Trustees of the Chautauqua Assembly, Inc. can be summarized by the following quotes:

The Chautauqua Idea

"Self-improvement in all our faculties, for all of us, through all time, for the greatest good of all people -- this is the Chautauqua Idea, a divine idea, a democratic idea, a progressive idea, a millennial idea."

 Dr John Heyl Vincent, Founder of the Chautauqua Movement,  1900

Chautauqua stands for everything good in life.
For beauty, for culture, for a never-ending life of learning.
For the essential spirituality of life and creation.
For fun, for family, for community, for civility.
For personal enrichment, for the sanctity of life, for friendship, for Love.
Again, Chautauqua stands for everything good in life.

Dan Bratton, President, Chautauqua Institution, 1984-2000 

“Chautauqua is an Idea which embraces the highest human value – the Divine Light in every Man – responsible for his enlightenment and his fullest creative expression”

Craig S Robinson, CPA, Trustee, Florida Chautauqua Assembly, Inc., 2007 

Chautauqua began in DeFuniak Springs in 1885, a “Daughter Chautauqua” to the Chautauqua Institution, New York. Also called an “independent” Chautauqua like so many others that sprang up in America, we feel that we are independent in time and place only, never in spirit.  The Florida Chautauqua Assembly, Inc. and its Board of Trustees subscribe to, honor and preserve the Chautauqua Challenge as the best contemporary expression of the Chautauqua Idea as founded by Dr John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller in 1874 and furthered by the Honorable Wallace Bruce in DeFuniak Springs:

The Chautauqua Challenge

To be a center...for the identification and development of the best in human values through a program which:

• Encourages the identification and exploration of the value dimensions in the important religious, social and political issues of our times;
• Stimulates the provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues on a high level of competence and commitment;
• Promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts.
• To be a community...in which religious faith is perceived, interpreted and experienced as central to the understanding and expression of our social and cultural values, a community which is open to all and is distinctly founded upon and expressive of the convictions of the Christian tradition.
• To be a resource...for the enriched understanding of the opportunities and obligations of community, family and personal life by fostering the sharing of varied cultural, educational, religious and recreational experience in an atmosphere of participation by persons of all ages and backgrounds.

The Chautauqua Challenge defines the mission of the Chautauqua Institution. It was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1974 and was revised in 2000.