LCC will commemorate Constitution Day on Sept. 15 with a talk titled “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism.” Journalist and author Tim Alberta will present his 2023 book of the same name, which was an instant New York Times bestseller, an Economist book of the year and one of Barack Obama's favorite books. Alberta will also provide, in light of the book's analysis, a discussion of contemporary political developments in the arena of religion and politics.

The event will run 10:30 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Sept. 15, in the Gannon Building Michigan Room, with a short meet-and-greet and book signing following the talk. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided. The event will also be livestreamed through the Constitution Day webpage.

About the speaker
Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. Hailing from Brighton, he attended Schoolcraft College and later Michigan State University, where his plans to become a baseball writer were altered by a serendipitous stint covering the Legislature in Lansing. 

He went on to spend more than a decade in Washington, reporting for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, National Journal and National Review. Alberta ultimately served as chief political correspondent for POLITICO before moving back to Michigan and joining The Atlantic in 2021.

In 2019, he released his first book, “American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump,” and co-moderated the year’s final Democratic presidential debate. In 2023 he followed up with “The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism.”

Alberta’s work has been featured in dozens of publications, including Sports Illustrated and Vanity Fair. He appears regularly as a commentator on American television programs and speaks on politics, culture and religion at forums around the world. He lives in southeast Michigan with his wife and three sons.
 
Follow-up event
After Alberta’s talk, on Sept. 17, Political Science Program Faculty Randy Watkins will host a conversation on Alberta's talk, plus an educational discussion of the First Amendment's religion clauses. This will take place 10:10 a.m.-noon in Gannon Building 3255. 

Both events will offer free pocket Constitutions, and the LCC Library will also host a book display.