The Crisis of American Christianity

All are welcome to join us for a Danforth Distinguished Lecture by Tim Alberta on the state of American Christianity and politics in the contemporary scene. The journalist and best-selling author will discuss the cascading conflicts at the intersection of faith and political power. His talk will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A from the audience.

Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. Hailing from Brighton, Michigan, he attended Schoolcraft College and later Michigan State University, where his plans to become a baseball writer were altered by a serendipitous stint covering the legislature in Lansing. 

He went on to spend more than a decade in Washington, reporting for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, National Journal, and National Review. Tim would ultimately serve as chief political correspondent for POLITICO before moving back to Michigan and joining The Atlantic in 2021.

In 2019 he released his first book, “American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump,” and co-moderated the year’s final Democratic presidential debate. In 2023 he followed up with, “The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” and in 2024 he won a National Magazine Award for his profile of Chris Licht, the chairman of CNN Worldwide, who was fired after the story published.

Tim’s work has been featured in dozens of other publications, including Sports Illustrated and Vanity Fair. He appears regularly as a commentator on American television programs and speaks on politics, culture, and religion at forums around the world.

Please register at rap@wustl.edu or 314-935-9345 so we can appropriately plan for your visit and send you parking and event information. Your registration does not guarantee a seat.

Graham Chapel offers open seating and doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for this event. Tickets are not required and seating will be “first come, first served.” All attendees are welcome to join us for a reception in nearby Rettner Gallery in Wrighton Hall with the speaker immediately following his talk. Local independent bookseller Left Bank Books will be on site for purchase of his books, and Mr. Alberta will be available to sign them.

Visitor parking is available on the fourth level of Millbrook Garage or in the Danforth University Center (DUC) underground garage. Pull a ticket at the gate when you enter. Parking is free in yellow spaces (you will be ticketed if in a red space) weekdays between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. and on weekends. For more information on parking, visit parking.wustl.edu/parking/visitor.

Please call us at (314) 935-9345 or email us at rap@wustl.edu with any questions or accommodation requests.