Jimmy Carter's improbable rise to the presidency built on his reputation as a New South governor and his obvious morality, a welcome tonic after the corruption of the Nixon administration. Carter also benefited from the mobilization of evangelical voters. Within the space of his presidency, however, many of those same evangelicals abandoned him in favor of Ronald Reagan and, in so doing, reshaped the American political landscape.

Although the emergence of the Religious Right is generally ascribed to the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, Randall Balmer’s research conclusively debunks that myth and posits a very different reason for the rise of the Religious Right.

Randall Balmer is the Mandel Family Professor of Arts& Sciences Chair in Dartmouth College’s Religion Department. A prize-winning historian and Emmy Award nominee, he earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1985 and taught as Professor of American Religious History at Columbia University for 27 years before joining the faculty of Dartmouth College in 2012. Dr. Balmer has published widely in both scholarly journals and in the popular press, and is the author of twelve books. He is regularly asked to comment on religion in American life, and his numerous TV appearances include guest spots on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with John Stewart. Dr. Balmer’s second book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, now in its fourth edition, was made into an award-winning, three-part documentary for PBS. Dr. Balmer wrote and hosted that series.

Admission: $10

Free w/ Dartmouth I.D.