Hillsdale’s Center for Constructive Alternatives will kick off its first installment of seminars for the academic year Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 on “Christianity in America.”

The series will cover the role Christianity has played in the United States from its founding to modern day, according to Executive Director of Programs Matt Bell. 

“I hope students will learn about America’s exceptional heritage that those who came before us sacrificed greatly to defend,” Bell said. “Christians must focus on what matters most at a time when their beliefs are so often belittled, and they find themselves increasingly ostracized from the public square.” 

The CCA will feature lectures from authors Glenn Ellmers, George M. Marsden, Thomas S. Kidd, and John Daniel Davidson, as well as American University School of Public Affairs Professor Daniel L. Dreisbach and Hillsdale College Distinguished Associate Professor of History Darryl G. Hart.

Davidson ’04 graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in history. Earlier this year, he published a book, “Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come.” He will give the final lecture of the CCA on “Christianity in a Post-Liberal World.”

“We are entering a post-Christian era, and the republic envisioned by our founders cannot survive under such conditions,” Davidson said. “The future of a post-Christian America is not some secular liberal utopia but a re-enchanted society in which new forms of paganism arise to compete with the vestigial forms of Christian civilization.”

Davidson said human rights depend on the upholding of Christian morality.

“While we still, for now, deploy a Christian-derived vocabulary when talking about things like human rights, the substance of those terms is quickly being hollowed out,” Davidson said. “A post-Christian, neopagan America will not have any particular concern for human rights or civil rights, because the basis for those things, which is Christian morality, will be gone.”

Lectures will conclude with a faculty roundtable Oct. 2 at 4 p.m., featuring Professor of Mathematics Thomas Treloar, Professor of History Kenneth Calvert, Associate Professor of Theology Jonathan Mumme, and Assistant Professor of English Patrick Timmis.

Calvert said he looks forward to the topic in light of the country’s commitment to not having a state church. 

“I would like to know how our speakers view the idea of religious leaders speaking to secular authority,” Calvert said. “In the Bible, you have the notion of the prophet Nathan being able to correct King David. Should we have a similar idea where the prophetic is represented to the king in an increasingly secular society?”

Sophomore Elijah Ahrens said he is particularly interested in Marsden’s speech on “Jonathan Edwards and Christianity in Colonial America.”

“I’m a big Jonathan Edwards fan,” Ahrens said. “I really like the way he studied and took notes of the Bible.”

Ahrens said he is excited for  good discussions.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what my friends think and to sparking good conversations about Christianity.”