Religious scholar to discuss 'next Christendom' in MSU lecture

Contact: Maridith Geuder

STARKVILLE, Miss.--A nationally recognized religious studies scholar who is a distinguished professor at Pennsylvania State University will present a public lecture Feb. 23 at Mississippi State University.

Philip Jenkins, a native of Wales and the author of "The Next Christendom," will speak at 4 p.m. on the fourth floor of Swalm Chemical Engineering Building. His visit is sponsored by the Institute for the Humanities, a part of MSU's College of Arts and Sciences.

"The Next Christendom," which earned the 2002 Theologos Award from the Association of Theological Booksellers, will be the topic of his MSU lecture, which is subtitled "globalization and the transformation of Christianity."

The book also won the 2003 Christianity Today Book Award for the best books in the category of "Christianity and Culture."

Among Jenkins' recent books are "The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice" (2003); "Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know About Terrorism" (2003); "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost its Way" (2001); and "Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History" (2000).

Jenkins holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Cambridge (England).

For more information, telephone Gary Myers at 662-325-2646.