CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Eddie Glaude, William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies of Princeton University, will reflect on W.E.B. Du Bois’ thoughts about religion in the annual Marjorie Hall Thulin Lecture in Religion. The annual lecture, sponsored by the University of Illinois department of religion, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 13 in the Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana.
The lecture, titled “An Uncommon Faith: W.E.B Du Bois and African American Religion,” is free and open to the public. A reception in Spurlock Museum will follow.
Glaude, the chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton and current president of the American Academy of Religion, is an author who writes about black communities and their complexities, vulnerabilities and opportunities for hope. Those who have influenced his writings include Du Bois, James Baldwin, Malcolm X and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Glaude’s most well-known books are “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul” and “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America.”
Glaude said his lecture will discuss Du Bois “as a figure that represents a third way between William James’ and John Dewey’s view of religion – as someone who enables us to take up the call for a religious ideal and who keeps track of the need for consolation without appealing to metaphysical foundations that provide comfort.”
Glaude has written books on religion and philosophy, and he is working on a book about Baldwin.
He is a columnist for Time magazine, has written for The New York Times and The Huffington Post, and regularly provides commentary on radio and television news programs like Democracy Now, Morning Joe, and the 11th Hour. He also hosts the podcast AAS21, recorded at Princeton University.
Glaude holds a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University. He began his teaching career at Bowdoin College, and he has been a visiting scholar at Amherst College and Harvard. In 2011, he delivered Harvard’s Du Bois lectures.
The Thulin Lecture in Religion is named for Marjorie Hall Thulin, a 1931 graduate of the University of Illinois who wanted students to understand how religion grows and functions in a complex society, especially Christianity in America. Through her endowment, the religion department brings an internationally known scholar of religion and contemporary culture to campus.