Capps Lecture to Explore Millennials and the Future of Faith

Asked about their religious beliefs, one-third of Americans under 30 describe themselves as being atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”

Acclaimed author Diana Butler Bass, a scholar of American religion and culture, will address this growing trend in a lecture, “Leaving Church? Generation Next and the Future of Faith,” on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. in the Dome Room of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda. Bass' lecture will explore the changing role of church in the lives of “millennials,” who often claim to be “spiritual, but not religious.” The talk will be webcast live here.

Bass is the author of eight books, including “Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.” Bass blogs for the Huffington Post and is a commentator for USA Today, Time, Newsweek and the Washington Post. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College and the Virginia Theological Seminary.

The event, co-sponsored by Theological Horizons and U.Va.’s Project on Lived Theology, is the ninth annual Capps Lecture in Christian Theology, a public forum for Christian leaders and thinkers whose work explores the relationship between faith and social responsibility.

Bass will also offer an informal workshop Nov. 1 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Bonhoeffer House, 1841 University Circle.

Both the lecture and the workshop are free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, and space is limited.  For information, email info@theologicalhorizons.org or call 434-466-1342.

The Capps Lectures in Christian Theology are endowed by Dr. and Mrs. W. Jerry Capps through Theological Horizons, a not-for-profit organization supporting Christians in academia by advancing theological scholarship and providing a welcoming community for engaging faith, thought and life. It was co-founded in 2000 by U.Va. religious studies professor Charles Marsh and his wife Karen Wright Marsh, who serves as executive director.