EDS Colloquia: What Do We Do About Democracy?

Dr. Anthea Butler, historian and author of White Evangelical Racism, will address the urgent question: What do we do about democracy now? She will connect the history of racism in American evangelicalism to our present democratic crisis, showing how White Christian Nationalism undermines both faith and civic life. Her insights will help us consider how we came to forfeit many fundamentals of democracy and what faith looks like under authoritarianism.

EDS Colloquia are dynamic, virtual hubs where the public are invited to witness and participate in rigorous theological discourse with renowned experts. Colloquia further EDS' legacy of progressive education and innovative, inclusive pedagogy. Through these virtual events, EDS fosters transformative conversations that incubate ideas, shift theological narratives, and inspire action for justice. EDS Colloquia are offered in tandem with our public, virtual, non-credit courses, in this case White Christian Nationalism and the Black Church's Prophetic Witness, taught by Dr. Jemar Tisby.

This event has now passed.

Due to the sensitive nature of topics discussed during this event, the recording will not be shared.

Resources:

God and Country documentary

Dr. Anthea Butler, White Evangelical Racism

Dr. Anthea Butler, “As Sheep Without a Shepherd,” The Revealer, September 2, 2005.

Dr. Anthea Butler, “‘As Sheep Without a Shepherd’: A Retrospective,” The Journal of Southern Religion, 2008.

  • Anthea Butler

    Dr. Anthea Butler

    Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought at the University

    of Pennsylvania. Prof. Butler’s most recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. Professor Butler is also a contributor to The 1619 Book: A New Beginning, with a chapter entitled “Church”. Her first book is Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World.

    Professor Butler is the winner of the 2022 Martin Marty Award for the Public Understanding of

    Religion from the American Academy of Religion. Her grant awards include a Luce/ACLS

    Fellowship for Religion, Journalism and International Affairs, and she was a Presidential fellow

    at Yale Divinity School for the 2019-2020 academic year. She is past president of the American

    Society for Church History and the Society of Pentecostal Studies.

    A sought-after commentator, Professor Butler is an op-ed contributor for MSNBC. Her articles

    have also been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and The

    Guardian.

  • Jemar Tisby Headshot

    Dr. Jemar Tisby

    Jemar Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, historian, and the founder and creative director of Tisby Media—a visionary studio creating a moral, imaginative, and creative counterculture to disinformation, social injustice, and the politics of fear. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Mississippi and is the author of multiple books, including The Color of Compromise, How to Fight Racism, The Spirit of Justice, as well as several children's books. As a nationally renowned public scholar, Dr. Tisby's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, PBS, NPR and TIME Magazine among others. He is an educator who has taught students from middle school through graduate school. He is an international speaker on the topics of faith, history, and justice, equipping audiences with clarity, competence, and courage to pursue transformative change. You can follow Dr. Tisby's latest thought leadership through his top ranked history publication at JemarTisby.Substack.com.

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