LILY RESLINK
Staff Writer
Randall Balmer — John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College, Episcopal priest, New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award nominee — brings simultaneous perspectives of a historian, faith leader and self-described “lifelong political junkie” to today’s 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture in the Hall of Philosophy.
“We have in this country a lively, vibrant, salubrious religious culture that I think can be traced directly to the First Amendment and the separation of church and state,” Balmer said.
In today’s lecture, Balmer said he will focus on what he regards as the perils of Christian nationalism.
“What I’m going to argue is that the First Amendment and the separation of church and state has worked remarkably well for over 200 years in our history, both by shielding the government from religious factionalism [and] also by bracketing the faith from entanglements with the state.”
Balmer, whose field is American religious history, said politics is something he’s always followed closely, adding that he interned at Capitol Hill for a summer in college. He said the intersection between religion and American society and culture fascinates him.
Recently, Balmer said the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration has increased his sense of Christian nationalism’s impact on the conflation between religion — particularly Christianity — and the state.
“I think there are sound reasons for wanting to keep these two entities separate, and to me all the folderol surrounding the July Fourth celebration at 250 years reinforces that,” Balmer said.
Balmer said reaching general audiences — such as by delivering lectures at places like Chautauqua and publishing editorials — are opportunities he made a promise to sustain since graduate school. He said uncredentialed people filling information gaps with “nonsense and misinformation” is a prolific issue, which scholars can mitigate by choosing to educate outside of their classrooms and academic circles.
“I think one of the reasons that we’re in such trouble today as a society is that too many academics regard it as beneath them to communicate with the general audience,” Balmer said.
Balmer said he is proud of both his archival historical scholarship and communication with general audiences over the course of his career.
Balmer is a returning Chautauqua lecturer, having delivered a week of Carnahan-Jackson Lectures at the Hall of Philosophy in 1998 and a Platform Lecture in 1999, according to his résumé.
If Balmer could flip a switch that changes one thing about the world to make it more peaceful, he said he would add more humility. He said more humility in our political views, as well as toward the natural world, would have considerable benefits.
