Monday 1 October 2012

Randall Balmer Comes to Chattanooga

My friend and colleague Bill McClay alerted me to the fact that Randall Balmer is coming to Chattanooga where he will speak at Grace Episcopal Church on October 13 and 14. More information may be found here.

Here is the blurb posted on Grace Episcopal's website:

On Saturday October 13, Grace Episcopal Church, Chattanooga, will host Professor Randall Balmer who will speak on religion and the presidential elections. It promises to be a full day with two lectures, two question-and-answer sessions, lunch and a book signing reception. All events are free (donations are welcomed at the door and reservations for lunch are required). On Sunday, October 14, Dr. Balmer will facilitate the Adult Formation class at 9:30. He will also preach at both services.

Randall Balmer is an Episcopal priest, Mandel Family Professor of Arts & Sciences and Chair of the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College. Previously, Balmer was Professor of American Religious History at Barnard College, Columbia University, and a Visiting Professor at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of a dozen books, including Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America and The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond. Dr. Balmer is known for his well-received book God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Dr. Balmer was nominated for an Emmy for script-writing and hosting the three-part PBS documentary Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, based on his book with the same title. He also wrote and hosted two other PBS documentaries: Crusade: The Life of Billy Graham and In the Beginning: The Creationist Controversy.

Balmer is on my list of potential speakers for the LeRoy Martin Lecture Series, and so I hope to make it out to Brainerd, TN to hear his talk.

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