On Sunday, October 13, at 1 p.m. St. Stephen’s Church in Ridgefield will present a public forum in North Hall on “The Perils of Christian Nationalism” led by Randall Balmer, who holds the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. He will also preach at the church’s 10 a.m. service. This will be a homecoming of sorts, as Dr. Balmer attended St. Stephen’s in the early 2000’s when he lived in Ridgefield.
In his book Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right, Dr. Balmer describes how lobbying by the Religious Right in the 1970s, fueled by efforts to defend racial segregation, evolved into the dangerous political force threatening democracy and religious freedoms today. He adds, “I don’t find much that I recognize as Christian in the actions and policies of the Religious Right.“ Dr. Balmer appeared in the recent documentary “Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy,” which was screened at St. Stephen’s earlier this year.