Crader lecture will dive into religion, politics

The overlap of politics, government and religion creates complications.

In a nation that guarantees freedoms in religion and speech, are there limits? How much religion should be injected into our politics vs. our government? These are questions that have been debated since the country's founding.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday Dr. Jonathan Den Hartog, professor of history at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, will give the annual Crader lecture. Hartog will talk about the "Political Conflict and Religious Struggle in the New Nation: The Federalists and The View from 2018," according to a news release from the university.

The annual Crader Lecture is supported by The Crader Family Endowment for American Values, within the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation. The endowment is "dedicated to education, research and public engagement in the historical traditions of the United States of America and Western civilization," according to the university.

The endowment is named in the honor of Saundra and the late Don Crader of Marble Hill, Missouri; and Stan and Debbie Crader of Jackson.

The event is free and open to the public at Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall Room 126.

This will be a good opportunity to learn about our country's roots and how it applies to today's political environment.