Dr. John Fea, “Roads Not Taken: How Evangelicals Embraced MAGA”

“Roads Not Taken: How Evangelicals Embraced MAGA”
Tuesday, 2/4, 7:00 pm, Old Main, Ritz Auditorium
A lecture by Dr. John Fea, distinguished professor of history at Messiah University.
In 1998, following the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the Christian Right in the United States was at a turning point. The movement was in shambles and some of its leaders were ready to give up politics as the most effective way to advance a Christian society. Some American evangelicals, many of whom had little history with the Christian Right, were calling for new approaches to political witness that did not rely so heavily on fear, power, nostalgia and the culture wars. In this lecture, John Fea, author of Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump and a forthcoming trilogy on evangelicals and politics in the 21st century, explores these “roads not taken.”
The event is a collaboration between University of Findlay and Bluffton University, sponsored by University of Findlay’s Freed Contemporary Christian Lecture series and Bluffton’s Keeney Peace Lectureship. The Freed Christian lecture series was endowed in 2010 by the late Dr. and Mrs. DeBow Freed to promote a Christian-centered ethos, respect for multiple faith traditions in an increasingly pluralistic world, civility of expression, excellence and rigor of thought, humility, compassion, and service. Bluffton’s Keeney Peace Lectureship was established in 1978 by the family of William Sr. and Kathryn Keeney to express appreciation for Bluffton’s influence and to strengthen the continuing peace witness among the community.