The topic of Tuesday night’s Peter Steinfels and Margaret O’Brien Steinfels Lecture at Fordham University was “Soul-Searching on the Eve of the Election: Religion and the Future of American Politics.” Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute moderated a panel featuring David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values; Eddie Glaude Jr., author of Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul; Nina Shea, director of The Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom; and the National Catholic Reporter’s Tom Reese. The discussion touched on a range of issues and questions: Why are older evangelical Christians drawn to Donald Trump? Where are the overlaps and gaps between Black Lives Matter and black religious institutions? How will the next administration address the continued persecution of religious minorities in countries around the world? What does it mean for our democracy that more Americans are choosing not to identify with a particular religion or a particular political party? If you weren’t able to attend (or even if you were there), you can view the full video of the event here.

Dominic Preziosi is Commonweal’s editor. Follow him on Twitter.

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