Distinguished Scholar to Speak on Christian Higher Education

THOUSAND OAKS, CA – October 2006 – Randall Balmer, a Columbia University professor of American religious history, will discuss the promise and peril of Christian higher education in a pluralistic country at California Lutheran University on Friday, Oct. 6. The discussion, which is open to the public, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Nelson Room.

Balmer has taught at Columbia since earning his doctorate from Princeton University in 1985. He is the author of 10 books, most recently Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical’s Lament. His second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America, was made into an award-winning three-part documentary for PBS.

He lectures frequently to audiences throughout the country and, under the auspices of the State Department, around the world. Recently ordained a transitional deacon in the Episcopal Church, Balmer’s commentaries on religion in America have appeared in some of the nation’s largest newspapers.

The lecture is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association of Lutheran College Faculties (ALCF) on Oct. 6 and 7. One of the oldest networks of Lutheran educators in the United States, the ALCF includes the faculties of all Lutheran colleges and universities in the country as well as individual members who are Lutherans teaching in non-Lutheran institutions. This year’s conference theme is “Identity and Diversity in the Lutheran College.”

Sponsored by the ALCF and CLU’s Segerhammar Center for Faith and Culture, admission to Balmer’s presentation is free. For more information, please call (805) 493-3015. For more information about the ALCF, please contact Dr. Madeleine Marshall of the CLU Religion Department at ALCF@callutheran.edu or visit www.callutheran.edu/university_ministries/alcf