The State of Religion in America

Ross DouthatNew York Times
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The State of Religion in America
$60 General / $600 Host Committee Member
Since publishing Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics in 2012, Ross Douthat’s commentary on American religious culture has established him as a prominent and thoughtful critic. This lecture will describe the three "world pictures" that dominate American religiosity: the biblical, spiritual, and secular. As these world pictures jockey for cultural dominance, interesting questions arise. Can the biblical world picture gain ground? Will the secular world picture carry the day? Will the spiritual world picture be forced to give way to one of its more inflexible alternatives? These and other questions will be considered in view of contemporary political and cultural events.
Douthat explored these themes in a popular 2013 column accessible here.
Ross Douthat also participated in a panel discussion on "Religion and Religious Expression in the Academy and Public Life" at the University of Chicago on January 17.
To view photos of the luncheon, visit Lumen Christi's Facebook page.
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Ross Douthat joined the New York Times as an op-ed columnist, the youngest in the paper's history, in April 2009. His column appears every Wednesday and Sunday. He has established himself as a nationally recognized commentator on politics, religion, moral values, and higher education. Previously, he was a senior editor at the Atlantic and a blogger for theatlantic.com. He is the author of To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (forthcoming), Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics (2012), Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class (2005), and co-author, with Reihan Salam, of Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream (2008).