Progressive theologian Jim Wallis to discuss faith and politics at Baker Institute lecture Sept. 29

BY FRANZ BROTZEN
Rice News staff

The Rev. Jim Wallis, president and CEO of the progressive Christian organization Sojourners, will discuss faith and politics at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Sept. 29.

	JIM WALLIS

His lecture, “Forging a More Civil Democracy: A Discussion of Faith, Values and Politics,” will begin at 6 p.m. in Baker Hall’s Doré Commons. It is free and open to the public.

Wallis has been a strong and influential voice in articulating the importance of values and vision for a society, particularly when it comes to shaping public policy. As part of its mission to ‘articulate the biblical call to social justice,’ and as Washington debated deficit reduction and government spending, Sojourners has advocated the importance of a ‘moral’ budget that serves ‘the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world.’ The group has also advocated for immigration reform and for an end to the war in Afghanistan.

Wallis recently served on the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and currently serves as the chair of the Global Agenda Council on Faith for the World Economic Forum. He is the author of ‘Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street and Your Street — A Moral Compass for the New Economy’ (2010), as well as New York Times best-sellers ‘The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America’ (2008) and ‘God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It’ (2005).

Copies of ‘Rediscovering Values” will be available for sale after the lecture.

The event, which is organized by the Baker Institute Student Forum, will be webcast at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/forging-a-more-civil-democracy-a-discussion-of-faith-values-and-politics.