Public Events
Our events offer an important way to engage with a wide range of scholars, leaders, and public thinkers with expertise in areas relating to religion and politics. We offer public lectures and conversations, panel discussions, conferences, and more. All events are videotaped and archived here.
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Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood
A public lecture by Mark Oppenheimer
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An Island Retreat: Sin, Secrecy, and the Offshoring of Sexually Abusive Priests
A public lecture by Kevin Lewis O’Neill
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Conspiracy! Evangelicals, Fear, and Nationalism in the 21st Century
A Public Lecture by Anthea Butler
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Reading Muslims through the Culture Wars
Public lecture by Professor Zareena A. Grewal
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Reckoning with History: Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
Panel discussion on role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust.
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Fannie Bialek
Professor Bialek discusses how examining art informs understanding of religion and politics.
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Fannie Bialek
Professor Bialek highlights her current work.
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Fannie Bialek
Professor Bialek on teaching how to make collective, difficult decisions in our world.
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John D. Inazu
Professor Inazu discusses discusses the evolution of his research.
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John D. Inazu
Professor Inazu discusses teaching at WashU.
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John D. Inazu
Professor Inazu discusses his work beyond the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
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Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp
Professor Maffly-Kipp describes her current research.
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Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp
Professor Maffly-Kipp on teaching at WashU.
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Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp
Professor Maffly-Kipp discusses intellectual life at the Center.
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Leigh Eric Schmidt
Professor Schmidt discusses his recent research on secularism.
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Leigh Eric Schmidt
Professor Schmidt describes the students at WashU.
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Leigh Eric Schmidt
Professor Schmidt discusses the intellectual community at the Center on Religion at WashU.
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R. Marie Griffith
Marie Griffith discusses her book published earlier this year and her current research project.
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R. Marie Griffith
Professor Griffith discusses teaching students of different backgrounds and perspectives.
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R. Marie Griffith
Professor Griffith gives an example of how the Center can respond to current events.
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Mark Valeri
Professor Valeri describes his current book project.
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Mark Valeri
Professor Valeri discusses the opportunity to teach students an appreciation of the other side’s way of thinking.
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Mark Valeri
Professor Valeri on student conversations that continue outside the classroom.
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Tazeen M. Ali
Professor Ali reflects on her role as the first Islamic studies faculty member at the Center and the opportunity that offers to shape broader conversations about Muslims in America.
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Tazeen M. Ali
Professor Ali on the rewards of teaching topics particularly relevant to current events.
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Tazeen M. Ali
Professor Ali discusses her current research project on Islam in America considered through the lens of gender and race.
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Marie Griffith: Danforth’s Vision
Center director Marie Griffith discusses the founding vision of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics.
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Texas and the Future of Abortion Law and Reproductive Justice
September 24, 2021
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Interpersonal Relations Across Political Divides: People of Faith Building Bridges from Polarization to Reconciliation
John Danforth and Matt Malone in Conversation
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Why People of Faith Should Care about Immigration
Third in the “Immigration and the 2020 Election” series.
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Not Just the Wall: Barriers Faced by Migrant Communities
Second in the “Immigration and the 2020 Election” series
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Designer Babies and Choosing Disabilities: Ethical Considerations of Deliberately Creating a Disabled Child by IVF
Boniuk-Tanzman Memorial Lecture in Jewish Medical Ethics by Dr. David Eisenberg (February 20, 2020)
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Liberty of Conscience as a Tool of Empire: England and Its Restoration Colonies, 1660-1689
Lecture by Professor Daniel K. Richter, University of Pennsylvania (February 11, 2020)
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The Religion Clauses
Keynote Lecture by Professor Michael McConnell for “The Religion Clauses” Conference. (January 24, 2020)
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The Judge Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Erika Cohn, Tazeen Ali, Nancy Reynolds, David Warren (November 13, 2019)
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When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America’s Fight for Religious Freedom
Marie Griffith, Asma Uddin, Tazeen Ali, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, John Inazu (October 28, 2019)
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James Baldwin and the Moral Crisis of American Democracy
Eddie Glaude Jr. (October 24, 2019)
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Overcoming Political Tribalism and Recovering Our American Democracy
Andrew D. Martin, John C. Danforth, Amy Chua, Marie Griffith (September 12, 2019)
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Beyond Sides – Towards Reconciliation: Israeli and Palestinian Women in the West Bank
Marie Griffith, Saskia Keeley, Atia Thurman (September 9, 2019)
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Liberal Arts Education: What’s the Point? Robert George and Cornel West in Conversation
Professors Robert George and Cornel West (April 16, 2019)
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Identifying Depression: Jewish and Psychological Perspectives
David Pelcovitz (April 7, 2019)
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Welcoming the Stranger to St. Louis: Religious Responses to Recent Immigrants and Refugees
Anna Crosslin, Rori Picker Neiss, F. Javier Orozco, Eldin Susa (February 20, 2019)
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Religion and Polarized Politics: Peter Wehner and Melissa Rogers on Revitalizing Democratic Pluralism
Melissa Rogers, Peter Wehner (February 12, 2019)
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Human Rights-Based Organizing: A Faith-Informed Response to Violence and Immigration
Marie Griffith, Mike Angell, Noah Bullock, David Morales, Rori Picker Neiss, Travis Winckler, Dietra Wise Baker (October 8, 2018)
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Religion as a Conversation Starter! Embracing King’s Political Philosophy of “Somebodiness”
Prof. Jonathan Walton, Prof. Lerone Martin (April 17, 2018)
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Religion and Politics in an Age of Fracture
Emma Green, John Inazu,Eboo Patel (April 3, 2018)
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Religion and Politics in an Age of Fracture
Dr. Eboo Patel and Mr. Ken Stern with introduction by Prof. John Inazu (March 6, 2018)
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Religion and Politics in an Age of Fracture
Prof. Adrienne Davis, Prof. John Inazu, and Dr. Eboo Patel (February 6, 2018)
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What do Francis of Assisi and Francis of Buenos Aires Have in Common? A ‘Franciscan’ Perspective on the Common Good
Fr. Michael Perry, OFM (January 30, 2018)
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Preserving a United Nation: Moving Forward Together Despite Our Differences
Sen. John C. Danforth and Prof. Marie Griffith (September 6, 2017)
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An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Martin Doblmeier, Healan Gaston, David Greenhaw (March 6, 2017)
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Jews and Muslims Turn Hate to Humanity: Interfaith Collaboration in Times of Religious Violence
Tarek El-Messidi, Andrew Rehfeld (March 8, 2017)
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No Human Right to Sodomy: The Christian Right and SOGI Human Rights
Cynthia Burack, The Ohio State University (February 9, 2017)
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The Art and Politics of African American Faith
Josef Sorett, Columbia University (February 1, 2017)
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Work as Worship: Emerson’s Emancipating Religious and Political Journey
David M. Robinson, Oregon State University (December 7, 2016)
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Faith and Power: Religion and the American Presidency from the Founding to Trump v. Clinton
Jon Meacham (October 26, 2016)
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Danforth Dialogues: Envisioning the Future of Religion and Politics in America
“Religion and the Common Good” with Krista Tippett, Eboo Patel, Natasha Trethewey – Panel One (October 8, 2016)
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Danforth Dialogues: Envisioning the Future of Religion and Politics in America
“Religion and National Politics” with Krista Tippett, David Brooks, E.J. Dionne Jr.-Panel Two (October 8, 2016)
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American Catholicism, American Politics Reconsidered
Timothy Matovina, Eugene McCarraher, Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Leslie Woodcock Tentler, and Marie Griffith (March 10, 2016)
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American Catholicism, American Politics Reconsidered
Timothy Matovina, Eugene McCarraher, Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Leslie Woodcock Tentler, and Marie Griffith (March 10, 2016)
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Lecture by His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan
His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan (March 2, 2016)
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War Stories: How Religion and State Converge in the U.S. Military
Ronit Stahl, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow with the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, and Prof. Margot Canaday, Princeton University. (January 28, 2016)
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On Transparency: Christian Drug Rehabilitation Centers in Guatemala
Kevin Lewis O’Neill, University of Toronto. This lecture was a part of the Religion, Medicine, and Law Lecture Series. (December 1, 2015)
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The Faith Community’s Role in Health Care
G. Scott Morris, (November 3, 2015). This lecture was a part of the Religion, Medicine, and Law Lecture Series.
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Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine
Wendy Cadge, Brandeis University (October 8, 2015). This lecture was a part of the Religion, Medicine, and Law Lecture Series.
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Obamacare and American Values
David M. Craig, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (September 10, 2015). This lecture was a part of the Religion, Medicine, and Law Lecture Series.
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The Holocaust and American Public Memory
Fred Zeidman and Rachel Gross (April 22, 2015)
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Religious Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy
William Inboden, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, and Leila Nadya Sadat (March 30, 2015)
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In A Communion of Shadows: Religion, Race, and Nation in Nineteenth-Century American Photography
Rachel McBride Lindsey with response by Martha A. Sandweiss (February 17, 2015)
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Religious Responses to Ferguson
Rev. Traci Blackmon, Fr. Arthur Cavitt, Rabbi Susan Talve, Mr. Elhadj Wann; moderated by Stephanie Wolfe. (February 5, 2015)
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Senators John C. Danforth and Joe Lieberman in Conversation: The Role of Religion in America’s Broken Politics
Senator John C. Danforth and Senator Joseph Lieberman (December 9, 2014)
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Why Liberals Win: America’s Culture Wars from the Election of 1800 to Same-Sex Marriage
Stephen Prothero, Boston University (October 23, 2014)
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Religion, Marriage, and Sexual Counterrevolutions
Rebecca Davis, University of Delaware (May 9, 2014)
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Food, Religion, and Politics: A Conversation on Contemporary Issues in the U.S.
Karen Adelman, Rabbi Ari Hart, Jason Fowler, Jennifer Ayres, Benjamin Zeller, and Rachel Gross. (April 8, 2014)
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Barack Obama and the Paradoxes of Progressive Christianity (Keynote lecture of “Beyond the Culture Wars” Conference)
Keynote lecture by James T. Kloppenberg for the “Beyond the Culture Wars” conference. (March 27, 2014)
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Let the Record Play!: The Phonograph in the Making of Modern American Religion
Lerone Martin, Gerald Early, Laurie Maffly-Kipp (March 5, 2014)
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Protestant Foreign Missions and Secularization in Modern America
David A. Hollinger (November 20, 2013)
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Protestant Foreign Missions and Secularization in Modern America
Jon Butler, Darren Dochuk, Molly Worthen, David A. Hollinger (November 19, 2013)
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Protestant Foreign Missions and Secularization in Modern America
David A. Hollinger (November 18, 2013)
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Concerning ‘Goodbye Christ’: Langston Hughes, Political Poetry, and African American Religion During the Interwar Period
Wallace Best (October 21, 2013)
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Welcoming the Stranger: A Panel Discussion on Religion and Immigration
Ruth Melkonian Hoover, Richard Land, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Marilyn Lorenz (September 25, 2013)
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U.S. Religion and Politics in Multidisciplinary Perspective
Anthea Butler, Sarah Barringer Gordon, Eric Gregory, Mark Valeri (September 4, 2013)
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U.S. Religion and Politics in Multidisciplinary Perspective
Chris Garces, Paul Gutjahr, Sally Promey, Robert Wuthnow (September 4, 2013)
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Losing America, Trying for the World: The Origins of Global Protestantism
Sam Haselby (April 24, 2013)
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Religious Equality: American Commitment or Global Ideal?
Christopher Eisgruber (April 16, 2013)
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Why are U.S. Prisons so Religious? The Ascendance of Faith-Based Programs in an Age of Punitive Incarceration
Tanya Erzen (March 4, 2013)
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Redeeming the Soul of America? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Promise of an Engaged Scholar
Charles Marsh (October 9, 2012)
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The Long Approach to the Mormon Moment: The Building of an American Church
Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp (April 12, 2012)
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It’s Religion, Stupid, Not the Economy
Barry W. Lynn (March 20, 2012)
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The Religious Influence in American War and Diplomacy: A History
Andrew Preston (March 1, 2012)
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Stop Worrying and Start Sowing! The Ethics of a ‘Recession-Proof’ Gospel
Jonathan L. Walton (February 21, 2012)
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U.S. Evangelicals and the Congo Crisis of 1960-64: The Politics of Race, Revolution, and Persecution in Decolonizing Africa
Melani McAlister (February 16, 2012)
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Is There Room for Mercy in the Sexuality Debates? Shifting the Terms of our Religious-Political Stalemate
R. Marie Griffith (February 4, 2012)
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Muslim American Dissent and U.S. Politics Before and After 9/11
Edward E. Curtis IV (January 18, 2012)
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Navigating a Post-9/11 World: Challenges to Civil Liberties and Religious Freedom
Sahar Aziz, John Bowen, Gulten Ilhan (September 13, 2011)
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John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics: An Introduction
Faculty and students introduce the Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. (Please note this video was produced prior to university policies regarding COVID19, so does not reflect current practices and protocols.)