- Friday, April 5, 2024
- 3:00 PM–4:30 PM
- Prince Conference Center, Great Hall East
This panel consists of three out of the “Gang of Four” so recently recognized as the inaugural recipients of the American Political Science Association’s Religion & Politics Lifetime Achievement Award. James L. Guth, Lyman A. “Bud” Kellstedt, and Corwin E. Smidt will reflect on their groundbreaking contributions to the field. Along with John Green who cannot be with us, the “Gang of Four” were described by scholars David E. Campbell and Geoffrey Layman as “pioneers in the early study of religion in political science, and American politics specifically.”
Their careers were marked by generous co-authorship, collaborate data collection and distribution, and perhaps most impressive a remarkable commitment to mentoring up-and-coming graduate students who themselves have gone on to significant achievements in their own right. Some of those scholars have joined us at the Symposium to honor their former teachers.
Calvin University associate provost, former Henry director, and summer institute veteran Kevin den Dulk said this about the Gang of Four:
“Those four were key people in the 1980s in starting to focus the attention of political science on the intersection of religion and politics. Not only were they pathbreaking in terms of the use of methods of political science to show the impact of religion in public life, but they also started to convene younger scholars in ways that developed networks that became a subculture of political science.”
The Henry Institute is honored to host this panel and recognize the lasting legacy of each of these scholars and teachers.
