Faith in the 21st Century Presents

Pulpit to Polls 

The Future of Faith and Democracy 

This is a free event, but please let us know that you are coming.

RSVP for F21

Announcing our F21 Keynote Speaker!

Dr. Anthea Butler

The foremost scholar on white Christian nationalism is coming to MPBC!

"Why do people who identify as evangelicals vote over and over again for political figures who in speech indeed do not evince the Christian qualities that evangelicalism espouses?" asks academic and political commentator Anthea Butler, PhD; she is not alone in these ponderings. In fact, more and more Americans, religious or not, have wondered the same. Many of us even find ourselves anxious about the upcoming presidential election with these growing concerns of White Christian Nationalism and Project 2025. "It is a time of great anxiety and frustration. As a Christian, I know how our faith has been used to abuse power, but now we are wondering, 'What can we do?'" says Rev. Tara Gibbs. "I'm grateful for voices like Dr. Butler to not only teach us, but to inspire us to not give up or give in!"  

Be sure to join us for Faith in the 21^st Century with our keynote speaker, Dr. Anthea Butler as we get a better understanding of white Christian nationalism and seek remedies for a hurting nation. 

Learn More About Our Keynote 

Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social thought at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, Professor Butler’s research and writing spans African American religion and American Religious history, race, politics, Evangelicalism, media, and popular culture.

Butler’s recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America on Ferris and Ferris/UNC Press. Professor Butler also is a contributor to The 1619 Book: A New Beginning, with a chapter entitled “Church”. Her first book is Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World, also published by UNC Press.

Professor Butler is the winner of the 2022 Martin Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion from the American Academy of Religion. Her grant awards include a Luce/ACLS Fellowship for Religion, Journalism and International Affairs grant for 2018-2019 academic year to investigate Prosperity gospel and politics in the American and Nigerian context. She was a Presidential fellow at Yale Divinity School for the 2019-2020 academic year. Currently Professor Butler is a co-director of the Henry Luce Foundation funded Crossroads Project for Black Religious Histories, Communities, and Cultures. She has previously served as president of the American Society for Church history and the Society of Pentecostal Studies. Prof. Butler also holds honorary doctorates from Lutheran Theological Seminary and Meadville Lombard Theological School.

A sought-after commentator, Professor Butler is an op-ed contributor for MSNBC. Her articles have also been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and The Guardian. She has also served as a consultant to PBS series including Billy Graham, The Black Church,  God in America and Aimee Semple McPherson.

Basic Schedule

9:00 am | Registration
9:15 am | Welcome
9:30 am | "Bad Faith" Documentary (clips)
10:30 am | Break & Table Talk
10:45 am | Panel Discussion with Dr. Gerardo Marti, Dr. Lucretia Berry, and Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell
12:00 pm | Lunch & Table Talk
12:30 pm | Keynote Speaker Dr. Anthea Butler
1:45 pm | Keynote Q&A
2:00 pm | Conclusion

Hear From Our Keynote

On MSNBC | Anthea Butler: The Republican party is using God as an excuse

Center for Culture, Society, and Religion | Spotlight: White Evangelical Racism with Dr. Anthea Butler

Center for the Study of Ethics | Anthea Butler - White Christian Nationalism

Podcast: Spotify | The Weaponization of American Christianity with Professor Anthea Butler

Podcast: Apple | The Weaponization of American Christianity with Professor Anthea Butler