LIBRARY

Shurden Lectures

The annual Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State travel to campuses across the country, bringing a speaker to engage with the community and inspire students to stand up for religious freedom for all people.

Designed to enhance the ministry and programs of BJC, the Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures are held at Mercer University in Georgia every three years and at another seminary, college or university in the intermediate years.

The 20th annual Shurden Lectures took place Nov. 13-14 on the campuses of Mercer University. Videos and a recap of the event will be available on this page in the future.

20th annual event

Dr. John Compton delivered 20th annual Shurden Lectures in November 2024

The Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures returned to Mercer University on November 13-14, 2024, featuring Dr. John Compton.

A professor of political science and chair of the political science department at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., Dr. Compton’s lectures focused on how politics and civic life are impacted by the process of secularization and diminished religious authority. He gave two presentations on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and one presentation on the campus of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. Click here to read a Q&A with Dr. Compton previewing his lectures.

Videos of each lecture will be available in the coming days.

Schedule:

Wednesday, November 13
Macon campus

Lecture 1: Democratic Values in a Secular Age
3:30 p.m. at Mercer Law School’s Griffin B. Bell and Frank C. Jones Courtroom

Lecture 2: Secularization and the Rise of Political Extremism
5:30 p.m. at the Science and Engineering Building’s Peyton Anderson Auditorium

Thursday, November 14
Atlanta Campus

Lecture 3: Secularization and the Fracturing of the American Left
12:15 p.m. in the Trustees Dining Room

Lecture Archives

Shurden Lecture speaker Eboo Patel

2024, April 2

Symposium Panelists: Rev. Dr. Joseph Evans, J. Alfred Smith, Sr. Endowed Professor and Chair of Theology in the Public Square and Director of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Restorative Justice Center at the Berkeley School of Theology; and Rev. Dr. Christopher The, director of student research and initiative management for the Association of Theological Schools

Moderator: Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard, assistant director of community and public engagement with the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture

LocationUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif.

Recap from Baptist News Global: MAGA equals authoritarianism, professor says in Shurden Lectures

Podcast: Race, religion and citizenship

Shurden Lecture speaker Eboo Patel

2023, May 31

Lecturer: Dr. Catherine Brekus, the Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at Harvard Divinity School

Location: Old North Church in Boston

The myth of American ‘chosenness’ (Article in BJC magazine)
Watch the presentation on YouTube
Listen to the lecture as a podcast
Listen to the panel discussion as a podcast

Shurden Lecture speaker Eboo Patel

2022, March 19-20

Lecturer: Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. “Jay” Augustine, a multidisciplinary professional who serves in both ordained ministry and academia. In addition to serving as the senior pastor of St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, North Carolina, and as a missional strategist with the Duke Center for Reconciliation, he is also a law professor at North Carolina Central University. 

Location: Mercer University in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia

Recap in our summer 2022 magazine: Breaking down the boundaries created by Christian nationalism

Videos:
And Who Is My Neighbor? (March 29, 2022)
Religious Liberty and Christian Nationalism: A Political History and Problematic Present (March 30, 2022)
Making America Great Again?: Christian Nationalism and Recent Attempts to Undermine Democracy (March 30, 2022)

Shurden Lecture speaker Eboo Patel

2021, April 14

Title: Religious Liberty Has Been White Too Long: Voices of Black Scholars

Lecturers: Dr. Nicole Myers Turner, Yale University; Dr. Teresa L. Smallwood, Vanderbilt Divinity School; Dr. Anthony Pinn, Rice University; Dr. David Goatley, Duke Divinity School

Location: Online

Watch the full presentation here.
Two discussion guides are available:

Article in BJC magazine: Black scholars share ways religious liberty has been white too long