What Religion Offers Democracy: Challenges and Opportunities of Christianity and Islam in Contemporary America

As religion’s hold on American public life has weakened in the past couple of decades, political polarization and ideological extremism have risen dramatically. If there was a secular dream, it was that as traditional religions recede from modern life, a more rational and inclusive form of secular politics would emerge. The secular dream has become a nightmare. The more “secular” America becomes, the more its political culture appears to resemble a holy war.

John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics professor John Inazu will moderate a candid conversation between Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk on the possibility and tragedy of democracy in a “post-religious” America. A committed Muslim and a committed evangelical, Hamid and Kaemingk are collaborating on a new research project in which they are exploring the ways in which their respective faiths might contribute to the renewal of democratic life.

About the speakers

Dr. Shadi Hamid is a columnist for the Washington Post and a Research Faculty member in Islamic Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Problem of Democracy and Islamic Exceptionalism.

Dr. Matthew Kaemingk is the Richard John Mouw Associate Professor of Faith and Public Life at Fuller Seminary and director of the Richard John Mouw Institute of Faith and Public Life. He is author of Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear.

Prof. John Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis. His scholarship focuses on the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and related questions of legal and political theory. His next book, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect, will be published by Zondervan in 2024.

We appreciate your RSVP to rap@wustl.edu. This event is free and open to all.