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Scholar to Discuss Religion's Decline and Awakening

Scholar to Discuss Religion's Decline and Awakening

Published

A scholar who says religion is going through a challenging period of change, erosion and decline, will share her research at an upcoming ߲ݴý University lecture.

Writer, speaker and scholar Dr. Diana Butler Bass will deliver the Mattingly Visiting Distinguished Scholars Program on Thursday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Callen Conference Center. Her lecture is titled, “Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Beginning of a New Spiritual Awakening.”

Butler Bass says many Americans are dissatisfied with forms of faith and church that no longer seem to speak to the soul. From membership to traditional beliefs, nearly every measure of conventional religiosity is down, she says. Butler Bass has explored the religious trends reshaping our understanding of faith, practice, and community, drawing out the real questions that Americans are asking about their spiritual lives.

Butler Bass is the author of seven books including “A People’s History of Christianity: the Other Side of the Story,” and best-selling “Christianity for the Rest of Us.”

Her presentation is free and open to the public. Callen Conference Center is located on the lower level of the Smith-Curtis Administration Building, one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Ave.

The Mattingly Visiting Distinguished Scholars Program was established by an anonymous gift from a family of dedicated lay people of the United Methodist Church in Nebraska and named for Dr. E.L. Mattingly, professor emeritus of religion.