The rise of Christian Nationalism in the U.S., along with other forms of religious nationalisms around the world, threaten to turn back the clock on hard fought progress on issues of equality, diversity, and justice. At the same time, the speed at which AI is developing raises serious concerns about its largely unregulated impact on everything from the way we work to the way we govern. Together, these profound challenges raise significant questions for both democracy and civil society today.
PSR’s 2024 Earl Lecture Series, Disruptive AI, Christian Nationalism, and Democracy seeks to speak to the intersection of these forces.
The lecture series will be led by John Robichaux, Executive Director for U.C. Berkeley’s Coleman Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, and PSR’s Dean Susan Abraham, with responses by Leonard McMahon, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care, Spirituality & Political Theology at PSR, and PSR President, David Vásquez-Levy. Their much-needed conversation will go beyond acknowledging inherent challenges to outline the possibilities religion and technology offer for leveraging human capacity to create a world where all can thrive.
1 Hour of CEU credit available for those who participate in all four sessions. If you’re interested in receiving credits, please reach out to the Office of Development at development@psr.edu for more information.
Schedule
September 17th: AI and Religion at the Dawn of a New Era
September 24th: AI and Religion as Technologies of Communal Meaning Making
September 26th: In-Person Screening: Bad Faith at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley
October 1st: What Was Meant for Evil: Making AI and Religion Work for Us
Use the links above to register to attend online or in person at PSR’s Bade Museum in Berkeley, CA. The series is open to the public at no cost. No previous knowledge of AI or religion are required for this series, and people across a wide range of experience will benefit from the insights at the intersection of these two major aspects of our society and democracy.
PSR’s Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference address theological, pastoral, and social issues of the day. Founded in 1901, the Earl Lectures is one of the longest lecture series in the State. Over the years, the content of the Lectures has reflected the important theological, political, economic, and social trends of their times, with a uniformly high standard of scholarship and boldness.
Lecturers have been Biblical scholars, educators, historians, authors, activists, church leaders, and scholars of literature, among others; some of the featured Lecturers were well-known within their field but little-known outside of it, while others were household names. Some of the names we recognize today include such international figures as Theodore Roosevelt, Elie Wiesel, Howard Thurman, Maya Angelou, Paul Tillich, Alice Walker, and Robert Reich.