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Noted author, American religion historian to speak at Marietta College

Marietta, OH (04/03/2024) — The Marietta College campus and local community are invited to a special presentation - Christian Nationalism and Democratic Crisis - by guest lecturer Dr. Randall Balmer, who is the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth.

Balmer, an Episcopal priest, is an authority on 20th-century American religion, evangelicalism, and the origins of the religious right. He was invited to speak to campus by Dr. David Torbett, Marietta's Israel Ward Andrews Professor of Religion, who reviewed two of Balmer's books for a journal.

The presentation will be at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 11, in the Alma McDonough Auditorium. It is free and open to the public, and there will be a reception following his presentation in the Betty Cleland Room. The event is sponsored by Marietta College's Department of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Gender & Sexuality Studies, with support from the McDonough Leadership Program and the Office of Academic Affairs.

Balmer is widely known for his scholarly journal publications, op-ed pieces in national newspapers, and writing more than a dozen books. His second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, was made into an Emmy-nominated, three-part documentary series for PBS. His expertise of religion on American life has been showcased during guest appearances on network television, the Colbert Report, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, NPR, and as an expert witness in several First Amendment cases. He is a prize-winning historian who earned his doctorate from Princeton University and lectured at prestigious institutions, including Princeton, Yale, Northwestern, and Emory universities, and at Columbia, where he was a professor for more than two decades.

" 'Christian nationalism' is a term that we are increasingly hearing on the news and in American public discourse," Torbett said. "Broadly speaking, to be a Christian nationalist is to collapse two loyalties together - to make being an American and being a Christian one and the same. The prospect of Christian nationalism raises concerns for Americans who worry about having a religion imposed on them, and also raises concerns for many Christians who worry about the political appropriation of their faith. Over the years, Randall Balmer's critical and empathetic writing has helped countless readers understand American Christianity. I am excited to hear the wisdom he has to share about Christian nationalism: how prevalent it is and whether and how it is contributing to a constitutional crisis."

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy, founded in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today, Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers over 50 majors and is consistently ranked among the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.

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