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RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Jonathan L. Walton, assistant professor of religious studies at UC Riverside, will examine varying responses to and relationships between prominent evangelical pastors and the successful candidacy of President Obama in a public lecture on Wednesday, April, 7, at 4:30 p.m. His lecture, “Stationed in the King’s Court: Evangelicals in the Age of Obama,” will be held in Interdisciplinary Building 1113. Admission is free. Parking costs $5.

Walton will pay particular attention to the expanding roles of Texas megachurch pastors Bishop T.D. Jakes and Kirby John Caldwell, juxtaposing their now-consistent role in presidential politics against the protest-oriented evangelicalism that nurtured President Obama’s own faith.

The author of “Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism” (New York University Press), Walton also is the resident ethicist on “the Tavis Smiley Show” on radio and is a contributing editor to Religion Dispatches, a daily online magazine aimed at advancing progressive conversation regarding religion in the world today. He earned a Ph.D. in religion and society and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta.

The event is part of the Lyceum Lecture series presented by UCR’s Center for Ideas and Society. The series provides an opportunity for the community to hear from a prominent member of the UCR faculty.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.