Washington Post Columnist E.J. Dionne to Speak About Religion and Politics in Lecture at Colorado State University

Washington Post syndicated columnist and respected political commentator E.J. Dionne, Jr., will talk about the influence of the landmark Second Vatican Council in the United States in a Nov. 13 lecture at Colorado State University.

The lecture will be presented by the Theologian-in-Residence Program and is part of a three-month speaker series, “The Second Vatican Council 50 Years later.”
Dionne, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, is a professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University. He also has a weekly show on National Public Radio, and makes regular appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and MSNBC.

A former Rhodes Scholar, Dionne will discuss “The Second Vatican Council and American Religion and Politics” in his lecture, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre.

“E.J. Dionne is one of the great American Catholic public intellectuals of our time,” said Jared Orsi, associate professor of history at CSU and president of the Theologian-in-Resident Program’s board of directors. “He comes to Fort Collins a week after a national election at a time when religion plays a big role in American political discourse. This is a timely opportunity for people in northern Colorado to revisit the most important religious event of the 20th century in light of questions of faith and church we still ask today.”

Following the lecture, Dionne will sign copies of his latest book, “Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent.”

Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Students with valid ID are free.

The event is sponsored by the Theologian-in-Residence Program, the CSU Provost’s Office and College of Liberal Arts, the CSU departments of History and Journalism, First United Methodist Church, Northern Colorado Faith Library, Trinity Lutheran Church and KUNC.
 

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