Dr. Philip Jenkins, author of more than 25 books, will speak at Saint Vincent Seminary October 29 as part of the Pope Benedict XVI Lecture Series. His topic will be “The Church in the 21st Century: Is the Church Entering a Golden Age or a Dark Age?” Dr. Jenkins has a joint appointment as the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of the Humanities in history and religious studies at Penn State University and as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. His research interests include the study of global Christianity, the study of new and emerging religious movements and of 20th century U.S. history, chiefly post-1975. He is also interested in issues of crime, terrorism and the construction of social problems.
Jenkins’ books have been translated into 14 languages. His latest book will be released in July, Rethinking a Nation: The United States in the 21st Century. His most recent book is The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels.
Other titles include The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade; Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History; The Next Christendom: The Rise of Global Christianity; The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South; Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years; and Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can’t Ignore the Bible’s Violent Verses. He also has published about 100 book chapters and referenced articles and more than 100 book reviews.
Jenkins received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Cambridge in 1978, where he spent an additional three years working with Sir Leon Radzinowicz, founding director of the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge.
He has published articles and op-ed pieces in The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. He last spoke at the Seminary in 2003.
While the event is free, reservations are requested and can be made by calling 724-805-2177 or by clicking this link.
