As tensions escalate following the U.S. military strikes on Iran, many Christians are seeking a deeper understanding of the historical, religious, and political dynamics at play. How are white Christian nationalism and theology of the end times shaping U.S. foreign policy? What theological frameworks can help us interpret this moment? And how should communities of faith respond?
Join us for an urgent conversation with Dr. Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise, and Dr. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, author of Heaven Has a Wall, moderated by Dr. Kwok Pui Lan, Episcopal Divinity School’s Distinguished Scholar. Together, we will explore the religious influences behind the headlines and reflect on the role of faith communities amid global conflict.
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Dr. Kwok Pui-Lan
Moderator
Dr. Kwok has shaped a generation of theological scholarship and formed countless students. Most recently, she was Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and a past president of the American Academy of Religion. Before that, she was William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at EDS, where she taught for twenty-five years.
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Dr. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Dr. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She studies the public and political careers of religion in U.S. foreign and immigration policy, the international politics of secularism and religious freedom, American borders, and US actions in and representations of the Middle East. She is the author of Heaven Has a Wall: Religion, Borders, and the Global United States (University of Chicago Press, 2025), Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Politics of Religion (Princeton University Press, 2015), The Politics of Secularism in International Relations (Princeton University Press, 2008), and four co-edited volumes on religion and politics, including, most recently, At Home and Abroad: The Politics of American Religion (Columbia University Press, 2021). At Northwestern, Hurd co-directs the Global Religion & Politics Research Group and is a core faculty member in the MENA Studies program.
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Dr. Jemar Tisby
Dr. Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the Church's Complicity in Racism, How to Fight Racism, and How to Fight Racism: Young Reader's Edition. He is also a Professor of History at Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville. Jemar is the co-host of the "Pass the Mic" podcast. He speaks nationwide on the topics of racial justice, U.S. history and Christianity. Jemar earned his PhD in history and he studies race, religion, and social movements in the 20th century. You can follow his work through his newsletter, Footnotes, and on social media at @JemarTisby.