Religious scholar to present on faiths of postwar presidents

October 22, 2012

The Department of Political Science at Georgia Southern University presents Dr. David L. Holmes, Walter G. Mason professor of religious studies at the College of William and Mary, on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology, Room 1005. Holmes will speak on his latest work, The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents, which he will also lecture on at the Carter Center in Atlanta earlier in the week.

“With the November election just days away, we’re excited to have Dr. Holmes visit Georgia Southern University’s campus to share his historical perspective and his scholarly expertise on the faiths of America’s presidents,” said Dr. Patrick Novotny, professor in the Department of Political Science, who is coordinating the event. “Dr. Holmes is a nationally recognized scholar whose lecture we hope will be of interest to faculty, students and anyone in our community interested in learning more about the faiths that have shaped America’s presidents since the Second World War.”

“The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents is the result of Holmes’ giving the Shriver Lecture Series at Stetson University,” said Dr. George Shriver, professor emeritus. “The series is named ‘Religion in American History.’ Holmes is well known as a first-rate scholar, and we are fortunate to have such a scholar come to Georgia Southern.”

Holmes has authored several articles, monographs and other publications, including The Faiths Of The Founding Fathers, which was named an editor’s choice book by The New York Times and nominated for the People’s Choice Book Award of the Library of Virginia; A Brief History Of The Episcopal Church, which has become a standard used by Episcopal and interdenominational theological seminars; The Religion Of The Founding Fathers; A Nation Mourns and The Life of the Reverend Devereux Jarratt. A dedicated teacher, Holmes has won many awards for teaching a William and Mary, including the Outstanding Faculty Award of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Society of the Alumni Teaching Award for the College of William and Mary. He has also been elected to membership in the Phi Betta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa fraternities.

For more information about the event, contact the Department of Political Science at 912-478-5698.