Experts on Christian nationalism will examine the ideology within American religious and political life at an April 26 event hosted by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance.
Christian nationalism, a movement advocating a fusion of Christian symbols with American civic life, has risen to prominence over the past several years with real-world implications for politics and policy, according to the organizers.
This conference will bring together leading experts to discuss and reflect upon this ideology within American religious and political life. Experts will explore the following questions: Why does it exist? What are its origins? Is it most closely related to race or religion? What implications will it have on local and national politics and policies?
What: Baker Institute event – Christian Nationalism and Public Policy in the US
Who: David Satterfield, Baker Institute director and Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy; Michael Emerson, director of the Baker Institute’s religion and public policy program; Elaine Howard Ecklund, director of the Boniuk Institute; Tim Alberta, journalist and staff writer at The Atlantic; Samuel Perry, University of Oklahoma professor of sociology; Andrew Whitehead, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis associate professor of sociology and director of the Association of the Religion Data Archives; Angela Denker, journalist and Lutheran pastor; Willie Jennings, Yale Divinity School associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies; Jonathan Tran, Baylor University professor of theology and associate dean for faculty; Glenn Bracey, Villanova University assistant professor of sociology and criminology; Jerry Park, Baylor University associate professor of sociology; Rachel Schneider, director of Rice’s Religion and Public Life Program; Kevin Dougherty, Baylor University professor of sociology; Eric McDaniel, University of Texas at Austin professor of government and co-director of the Politics of Race and Ethnicity Lab; David Leebron, former Rice president, former Columbia School of Law dean and professor and president and CEO of Texas 2036; Ruth Braunstein, University of Connecticut associate professor of sociology and director of the Meanings of Democracy Lab; David Brockman, Baker Institute nonresident scholar; Paul Miller, Georgetown University professor in the practice of international affairs and co-chair for global politics and security.
When: Friday, April 26, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: James A. Baker III Hall or livestream. In-person registration has closed except for news media. A recording will be available after the event.
News media who want to attend must RSVP with Avery Franklin, media relations specialist at Rice, at AveryRF@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.
This conference is the inaugural event in the Visiting Distinguished Scholars Series, funded by the Bryan J. & June B. Zwan Endowment and co-sponsored by the Religion and Public Policy Program at the Baker Institute and the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, a premier interdisciplinary research and scholarly institute that aims to understand the conditions which lead to religious pluralism, tolerance, intolerance, conflict and discrimination and help people apply its findings in their lives and communities.