Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion Hosts George Whitefield Symposium

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (Nov. 10, 2014) – The 300th birthday of leading Great Awakening evangelist George Whitefield will be celebrated with a symposium in his honor Nov. 13-14 at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.
The symposium will gather a range of experts on George Whitefield and the Anglo-American evangelical movement to consider his influence on Christian faith in his time through the present.
“Christians should have a special interest in remembering Whitefield, who is arguably (along with Billy Graham) one of the two most influential evangelists in the English-speaking world since the Reformation,” said Thomas Kidd, Ph.D., associate director of the Institute for Studies of Religion, professor of history in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences and co-director of the Program on Historical Studies of Religion.
In spite of his remarkable preaching ministry, Whitefield remains largely unknown today, Kidd said.
“The objective of the symposium is to introduce the Baylor community to George Whitefield, the most important preacher of the First Great Awakening, and the most famous person in America prior to the American Revolution,” he said.
Kidd will present the first lecture of the symposium, “George Whitefield, Evangelical Christian: The Great Revivalist’s Core Motivations,” at 7 p.m. Thursday. The events will continue Friday with a morning panel and afternoon lectures. To view the symposium schedule, click here.
Lectures and panels are free and will be held in the Alexander Reading Room, located in Alexander Hall, 1413 S. Seventh St.
by Kristen Bennett, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES OF RELIGION

Launched in August 2004, the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) exists to initiate, support and conduct research on religion, involving scholars and projects spanning the intellectual spectrum: history, psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, theology and religious studies. The institute’s mandate extends to all religions, everywhere, and throughout history, and embraces the study of religious effects on prosocial behavior, family life, population health, economic development and social conflict. While always striving for appropriate scientific objectivity, ISR scholars treat religion with the respect that sacred matters require and deserve. For more information, visit www.baylorisr.org