Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez – New York Times best-selling author of “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” – will speak at the 2026 Darrell West Lecture on Religion and Politics.

Dr. Du Mez’s lecture will address the intersection between religion and politics in 21st-Century America. The speech will follow a welcome by series sponsor / moderator Darrell M. West, Brookings Institution senior fellow, former Brown University professor, and Central Congregational Church member. 

The evening will conclude with a question-and-answer forum open to the audience and book signing.