As we near the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we anticipate a burst of talk about the real meaning of America’s founding document.  This talk with special guest speaker Dr. Mark Valeri will probe different perspectives already coming into focus, from celebration of high ideals to critique of social inequalities in early America.  It also will bring biblical texts to bear on our approach to America’s creation.

Mark Valeri is the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics and currently serves as the Director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. His areas of specialization include religion and social thought, especially economics, in America; Reformation theology and the political history of Calvinism; Puritanism; and enlightenment moral philosophy. Valeri came to Washington University from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, where he served as the Ernest Trice Thompson Professor of Church History beginning in 1996. His prior appointment was in the Religious Studies department at Lewis and Clark College.