Reynolds Lecture Series


The Center hosted the Reynolds Lecture Series from 2003 to 2005. The Reynolds Lecture Series on Religion and Public Affairs brought leading scholars to campus to speak about issues generating new insights and wider debate among faculty, students, and the public about the contemporary and historical role of religion in American life. Featured speakers combined strong interests in public affairs with rich understanding of theology, theological ethics, philosophy of religion and religious history. The series was funded by Richard "Major" Reynolds '56 and Pam Reynolds.

There were two Reynolds Lectures for 2004-2005. On December 9, 2004 Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School, spoke on "Memory, Salvation, and Perdition: The Importance and Ambiguity of Memory." Sarah Coakley, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and former Visiting Lecturer in Christian Thought, spoke on "Ecclesiastical Sex Scandals: The Lack of a Contemporary Theology of Desire" on April 28, 2005.

The Reynolds lecture in 2003-2004 was a symposium on "Reinhold Niebuhr and Public Theology" with Robin W. Lovin, Carey Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University, and Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, held on Thursday, March 25, 2004, at 4:30 p.m., McCosh 10, Princeton University. Niebuhr was one of the most influential American Christian theologians of the twentieth century, and was well known for his ability to bring theological wisdom to bear on important issues of the day. He is the author of many classics in the field, including Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, and Discerning the Signs of Our Times. This symposium brought together Lovin and Hauerwas, two of the most prominent contemporary theological ethicists, to discuss Niebuhr’s vision of public theology, its efficacy in his time, and its implications for today. The Niebuhr symposium can be viewed through WebMedia, by scrolling down to the lecture date at: http://www.princeton.edu/WebMedia/special/. A limited number of VHS copies of this event are available by contacting Anita Kline at the Center.

The Inaugural Lecturer in the series was Mark A. Noll, Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College and author of numerous books including A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada and America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. He lectured on “Lincoln’s God,” April 22, 2003, 4:30 p.m., Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall. A limited number of VHS copies of his talk are available by contacting Anita Kline at the Center.