Church-State Institute to Host Lecture on Religious Right April 6-7

WACO, Texas -- Baylor University's J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies will sponsor a lecture series that tackles a widely-publicized topic -- the political power of the religious right. Dr. William Martin, the Chavanne Professor of Religion and Public Policy at Rice University and this year's featured speaker for the Dawson Lectures in Church and State, will deliver "The Rise to Power of the Religious Right in America" at 7 p.m. April 6 and "The Religious Right: Key Issues and Possible Futures" at 3:30 p.m. April 7. Both lectures will take place in Barfield Drawing Room, and there will be a question-and-answer period following.
"Dr. Martin is known for his fair-mindedness and his insight into how religious groups function, and his book, With God on Our Side, is the most up-to-date and comprehensive book on the religious right," said Dr. Barry Hankins, associate director of the Dawson Institute and assistant professor of history.
Martin received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Abilene Christian University, a bachelor of divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and his doctorate from Harvard University. His books include Christians in Conflict, A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story and These Were God's People. He also served as chief consultant to a PBS documentary series on the religious right, and his book, With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America serves, as a companion volume to that series.
The Dawson lectures, which help raise awareness and further scholarship in the areas of religion and politics and church-state issues, are free and open to the public.