BJC Updates » Podcasts

  Learn more about the 2015 Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest in this podcast from the Baptist Joint Committee. BJC Education and Outreach Specialist Charles Watson Jr. discusses the contest with Communications Associate Jordan Edwards, sharing some tips for interested students and discussing what the judges want to see in submitted essays. At the end of the podcast, hear what a winning essay sounds like as the 2014 winner reads his essay in front of the BJC Board of Directors. For more information about the Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, visit www.BJConline.org/contest.

This episode of the  Baptist Joint Committee Podcast features the 2014 Religious Liberty Council Luncheon keynote address delivered by Melissa Rogers, the executive director of White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In her speech, delivered June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia, she stressed the importance of religious liberty and explained how her office strives to reach out to those in need. For more information about this annual event, visit BJConline.org/luncheon.

In his first presentation for the 2014 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, Michael Meyerson discusses religious support for the separation of church and state in colonial America. A professor of law and Piper & Marbury Faculty Fellow at the University of Baltimore, Meyerson is also the author of three books, including Endowed by Our Creator: The Birth of Religious Freedom in America, and numerous law review articles and book chapters. The 2014 Shurden Lectures were held on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. To learn more about the annual event, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures. Click here to watch the video of this lecture. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for the podcast of his second lecture: “Freedom of Religion: The Framers’ Extraordinary Compromise” Click here for the video of lecture #2. Click here for a complete wrap-up of the 2014 Shurden Lectures, from the April 2014 Report from the Capital.

In his second and final presentation for the 2014 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, Michael Meyerson discusses how the Framers of our Constitution worked to ensure religious liberty in the United States. A professor of law and Piper & Marbury Faculty Fellow at the University of Baltimore, Meyerson is also the author of three books, including Endowed by Our Creator: The Birth of Religious Freedom in America, and numerous law review articles and book chapters. The 2014 Shurden Lectures were held on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. To learn more about the annual event, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures. Click here to watch the video of this lecture. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for the podcast of his first lecture: “The False Divide: Religious Support for Separation of Church and State” Click here for the video of lecture #1. Click here for a complete wrap-up of the 2014 Shurden Lectures, from the April 2014 Report from the Capital.

Learn more about the prayer case headed to the Supreme Court from BJC General Counsel Holly Hollman and Staff Counsel Nan Futrell. In this podcast, they discuss the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway and explain the religious liberty principles at stake. The BJC filed a friend-of-the-court brief (amicus brief) in the case opposing the prayer practice, and Hollman and Futrell’s wide-ranging discussion explains the problems with this particular prayer practice and the Baptist Joint Committee’s position. You can click below to listen to the podcast or download it from the BJC’s iTunes channel. To watch some of the prayers given at the Greece Town Board meetings, visit GreecevGalloway.net/prayers. For additional BJC resources on this case, read the BJC news release and a column discussing legislative prayer practices generally. Click here to read a transcript of this podcast.

This is a podcast of the 2013 Religious Liberty Council Luncheon keynote address from Suzii Paytner, the Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. On June 28 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Paynter received the J.M. Dawson Religious Liberty Award from the Baptist Joint Committee, recognizing her work defending our first freedom. She recounts her road to religious advocacy in this speech, titled “Teacups, Tevye and the First Sixteen.” Listen to the podcast to hear Paynter talk about her encounter with famed atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, her understanding of justice and how a character from “Fiddler on the Roof” can provide a model for effective deliberation. Click here to visit the BJC’s iTunes channel and download the podcast. Click here to read more about the event. Click here to download a Word document with Paynter’s prepared remarks. Click here to watch a video of the entire luncheon.

In his third presentation for the 2013 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, BJC Executive Director Brent Walker reflects on the 2012 election cycle and examines what the results show about the current relationship between religion and politics in America. The 2013 Shurden Lectures (centered around the theme of “Religious Liberty and Church-State Separation: Oh, What a Touchy Subject!”) were held on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. For more information on the lecture series, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures. Click here to watch the video of this lecture. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for the podcast of lecture #1: First Principles: God-given, but government protected. Click here for the video of lecture #1. Click here for the podcast of lecture #2: First Freedoms: Accommodate religion, but don’t advance it. Click here for the video of lecture #2. Click here for a complete wrap-up of the 2013 Shurden Lectures, from the April 2013 Report from the Capital.

Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director Brent Walker discusses how government accommodates religion without advancing it in his second of three presentations for the 2013 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State.  The entire 2013 series centered around the theme of “Religious Liberty and Church-State Separation: Oh, What a Touchy Subject!” The 2013 Shurden Lectures were held on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. For more information on the lecture series, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures. Click here to watch the video of this lecture. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for the podcast of lecture #1: First Principles: God-given, but government protected. Click here for the video of lecture #1. Click here for the podcast of lecture #3: Religion and Politics: How did we do in 2012? Click here for the video of lecture #3. Click here for a complete wrap-up of the 2013 Shurden Lectures, from the April 2013 Report from the Capital.

Brent Walker, Stetson University President Wendy B. Libby, and BJC General Counsel Holly Hollman participated in the two-day event. Listen to Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director Brent Walker deliver his first of three presentations for the 2013 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. This lecture is titled “First Principles: God-given, but government protected.” The entire 2013 series centered around the them of “Religious Liberty and Church-State Separation: Oh, What a Touchy Subject!” The 2013 Shurden Lectures were held on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. For more information on the lecture series, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures. Click here to watch the video of this lecture. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for the podcast of lecture #2: First Freedoms: Accommodate religion, but don’t advance it. Click here for the video of lecture #2. Click here for the podcast of lecture #3: Religion and Politics: How did we do in 2012? Click here for the video of lecture #3. Click here for a complete wrap-up of the 2013 Shurden Lectures, from the April 2013 Report from the Capital.

In this podcast, BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker discusses the so-called “war on Christmas” and how we can model the virtues of the season. You can find a version of these comments in his column in the November/December 2012 edition of the Baptist Joint Committee’s newsletter, Report from the Capital. Click here to see all of the Baptist Joint Committee’s podcasts. Click here to visit the Baptist Joint Committee channel on iTunes.

This is the third and final lecture given by Purdue professor Frank Lambert at the 2012 Shurden Lectures. This lecture centers on the Federal Convention of 1787 and the state ratifying conventions that debated the draft Constitution. It explores the question of religion at those conventions within the context of trying to create a “more perfect Union.” It concludes that the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention separated matters of church and state both to solidify the union and to safeguard religion from government encroachment. This speech was the third of three presentations for the 2012 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, held April 17-18 on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Click here to watch this lecture on the BJC’s Vimeo channel. Click here to download this and other lectures from the BJC’s iTunes Channel. Click here to see photos from the 2012 Shurden Lectures. Lambert’s other two lectures are also available as podcasts: Click here to listen to lecture #1: America conceived as a Christian nation? The separation of good and bad history Click here to listen to lecture #2: A secular/sacred alliance in the fight for religious liberty

Is America both sacred and secular? In his second Shurden lecture, Purdue professor Frank Lambert agrees with George Marsden’s notion that the U.S. was from its beginning profoundly sacred and profoundly secular. It explores the many points of intersection between Great Awakening and Enlightenment ideas and influences, and it concludes with a close examination of the cooperation between the Baptist John Leland and the Deist Thomas Jefferson in the fight for religious liberty. This speech was the second of three presentations for the 2012 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, held April 17-18 on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Click here to watch this lecture on the BJC’s Vimeo channel. Click here to download this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here to see photos from the 2012 Shurden Lectures. Lambert’s other two lectures are also available as podcasts: Click here to listen to lecture #1: America conceived as a Christian nation? The separation of good and bad history Click here to listen to lecture #3: Constituting the Separation of Church and State  

From left to right: BJC General Counsel Holly Hollman, Purdue professor (and 2012 Shurden Lecturer) Dr. Frank Lambert, Mrs. Beth Lambert, BJC Executive Director Brent Walker, Dr. Kay W. Shurden, Dr. Walter B. Shurden Was the United States founded as a Christian nation? In his first of three presentations for the 2012 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, Purdue professor Frank Lambert begins with a critique of the radical right’s assertion that America was conceived of as a Christian state. This lecture examines these revisionist “historians’” selection and use of evidence to support their presuppositions. It ends by examining within historical context the failed attempts to establish Christian states in colonial New England. The 2012 Shurden Lectures were April 17-18 on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Click here to watch this lecture on the BJC’s Vimeo channel. This lecture and other BJC podcasts can be downloaded here on the BJC’s iTunes channel. Click here to see photos from the 2012 Shurden Lectures. Lambert’s other two lectures will soon be available as podcasts: Click here for lecture #2: A Secular/Sacred Alliance in the Fight for Religious Liberty Click here for lecture #3: Constituting the Separation of Church and State    

Pictured from left to right at the 2011 Shurden Lectures: Melissa Rogers, BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker, Kay W. Shurden, Walter B. Shurden, BJC General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman Melissa Rogers (pictured at left) delivered the 2011 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. This is her final lecture in the series, titled “Continuity and Change: Faith-based Partnerships under Presidents Bush and Obama.” Rogers is the director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and she served as the first chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and she is a former general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee. The 2011  Shurden Lectures were held on the campus of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. You can watch this lecture on the BJC’s Vimeo site, and the other two lectures in this series are also available as podcasts. Visit the BJC’s iTunes channel for a downloadable version of this lecture and other BJC podcasts. Click here for lecture #1: Religious Expression in American Public Life Click here for lecture #2: An American and Christian Case for Defending Muslims’ Free Exercise Rights For more information on the Shurden Lectures, visit the Baptist Joint Committee’s website. For information about this year’s lecture series, visit www.BJConline.org/lectures

In this presentation, Melissa Rogers gives an American and Christian case for defending Muslims’ free exercise rights. This is her second presentation for the 2011 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State, held on the campus of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. Rogers is a former BJC General Counsel, and she served as the first chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Rogers is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and she is the director of the Wake Forest University Divinity School’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs. As you listen to this lecture, stay tuned after the applause to hear Rogers take audience questions. Click here to view this lecture on the BJC’s Vimeo channel. You can download this lecture and other BJC podcasts from the BJC’s iTunes channel. The other two lectures in this series are also available as podcasts. Click here for lecture #1: Religious Expression in American Public Life Click here for lecture #3: Faith-Based Partnerships Under Presidents Bush and Obama For more on the Shurden Lectures, visit the Baptist Joint Committee website.

Shurden Lecturer Melissa Rogers (left) is pictured with BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker, Kay W. Shurden, Walter B. Shurden, and BJC General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman. Melissa Rogers, the director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, delivered the 2011 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. This is her first lecture in the series, titled “Religious Expression in American Public Life.” During the presentation, she mentions a document called “Religious Expression in American Public Life,” which is available on the website of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs. Rogers is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and she served as the first chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She is a former Baptist Joint Committee general counsel. Click here to watch this speech on the BJC’s Vimeo channel. To download this this and other speeches, visit the BJC’s iTunes channel. The other two lectures in this series are also available as podcasts. Click here for lecture #2: An American and Christian Case for Defending Muslims’ Free Exercise Rights Click here for lecture #3: Faith-Based Partnerships Under Presidents Bush and Obama For more on the Shurden Lectures, visit the Baptist Joint Committee website.

This podcast features church historian Bill J. Leonard’s keynote address at the 2012 Religious Liberty Council Luncheon in Fort Worth, Texas. The speech is titled “The Baptists: Distressed and Distressing Conscience.” Click here to read the text of the speech. Leonard is the James and Marilyn Dunn Chair of Baptist Studies at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Leonard is a scholar of church history and an ordained Baptist minister. He has dedicated much of his career to the study of Baptist history and was the founding dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. After retiring as dean in 2010, he has continued to teach church history at Wake Forest. After delivering his presentation, Leonard received the J.M. Dawson Religious Liberty Award from the Baptist Joint Committee in recognition of his contributions to the defense of religious liberty for all people. You can listen to the podcast below or download it from the BJC’s iTunes channel. For more on the annual event, visit BJConline.org/luncheon.

Click below to hear Dr. Martin E. Marty give his final of three presentations for the 2010 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. This lecture, titled “Tracing Lines, not Building Walls,” uses James Madison’s words on tracing a “line of separation getween the rights of religion and the Civil authority.” Marty is the University of Chicago’s Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity in the Divinity School. He is a prominent interpreter of religion and culture and the author of more than 50 books. This presentation was recorded April 28, 2010,  in Hodges Chapel at Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Marty began his lecture just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Salazar v. Buono, which he mentions near the beginning. Video of this lecture is also available at the Baptist Joint Committee’s Vimeo channel. Click here to watch the video of this presentation. This lecture and other lectures can be downloaded at the Baptist Joint Committee’s iTunes Channel.    

Click below to hear Dr. Martin E. Marty give his second of three presentations for the 2010 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. In this presentation, titled “The Difference Indifference Can Make,” Dr. Marty uses Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on the voluntary contributions that gave rise to religion in the United States. This lecture was recorded April 27, 2010, on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Marty is the University of Chicago’s Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity in the Divinity School. He is a prominent interpreter of religion and culture and the author of more than 50 books. A video of this presentation is also available on the Baptist Joint Committee’s Vimeo page. Click here to view the video. Click here to download this presentation from the Baptist Joint Committee’s iTunes channel.

Click below to hear Dr. Martin E. Marty give his first of three presentations for the 2010 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. Dr. Marty is the University of Chicago’s Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the History of Modern Christianity in the Divinity School. Delivered on April 27, 2010, on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Marty takes a cue from French political thinker Montesquieu in this lecture, titled “On Not Privileging the Privileging of Religion.” A video of this presentation is also available on the Baptist Joint Committee’s Vimeo page. Click here to view the video. This presentation and others are available for download at the Baptist Joint Committee’s iTunes channel.