America may be more divided today than at any time since the Civil War, its political culture perhaps reaching a breaking point. Why that is happening and what we might do about it will be the subject of the Institute’s next lecture entitled “In Search of Our Better Angels: A Brief History of American Civil Religion” given by Dr. Philip Gorski, Professor of Sociology at Yale University. The lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m. next Monday, December 4th, in the Escondido Theater in the basement of the Texas Tech Student Union Building.
Dr. Gorski will argue that America’s civil religion is a synthesis between secular democratic ideals and its Christian beliefs, with continuing elements of tension arising between the two. An examining of that history, he believes, provides lessons that can help us heal our current political divisions.
We very much hope you will be able to come to this lecture that brings extensive scholarship to a question central to the future wellbeing of our country.