Religion and the American Founding Conference

Please join us for the Religion and the American Founding Conference on Friday, October 9, 2026 in the Jack and Shirly Silver Pavilion at the University of Vermont. Sponsored by UVM's Humanities Center, the event coincides with the many nationwide celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and brings together award-winning scholars of religion in early America from Harvard University, Princeton University, Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina, and other research institutions to share their groundbreaking and innovative work on this topic and time period. 

The event consists of two roundtables discussing religion in colonial America and in the early national period, followed by a plenary from Catherine Brekus, the Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at Harvard Divinity School. Her talk will be followed by a reception open to all attendees. 

Date and Time:

Friday, October 9th, 2026 from 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Schedule:

2:00PM – 2:15PM – Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Michael Baysa, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

2:15PM – 3:30PM – First Roundtable - Colonial American Religion
Chair: Johanna Mueller, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

• Anca Wilkening, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Tim Grieve-Carlson, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA
• Philippa Koch, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO
• Mark Valeri, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
• Douglas Winiarski, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA

3:45PM – 5:00PM – Second Roundtable - American Religion in the Early Republic
Chair: Rebekah Trollinger, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

• Seth Perry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
• Sonia Hazard, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
• Dana Logan, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
• Jamie Brummitt, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
• Melena Sims-Laudig, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ

5:15PM – 6:30PM – Plenary Speaker - Religion and the America Founding

• Catherine Brekus, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Location:

University of Vermont

Jack and Shirley Silver Pavilion

61 Summit Street, Burlington, VT 05405

Cost:

Free

Accessibility:

If you require an accommodation related to a disability, please contact Accessibility Services at access@uvm.edu, or (802) 656-7753 and include Humanities.Center@uvm.edu.

 

Sponsored by UVM Humanities Center with contributing support from the College of Arts & Sciences, the Center for Research on Vermont, the Department of History, and the Department of Religion at the University of Vermont.

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Please reach out to Humanities.Center@uvm.edu with any questions.