2024 Laing Lectures
Dr. George Yancey
Dr. George Yancey is a Professor of Sociology at Baylor University and the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. He has published numerous articles on a wide range of topics, including institutional racial diversity, racial identity, atheists, cultural progressives, academic bias, and anti-Christian hostility. His books include Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism (IVP, 2022), So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States? (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014), and Transcending Racial Barriers: Toward a Mutual Obligations Approach (Oxford University Press, 2011; with Michael Emerson).
Christian Racial Reconciliation
Lecture 1 • Institutional Racism Past and Present
Tuesday, March 5, 7:30 pm
In this lecture, Dr. Yancey discusses why historical and institutional racism continue to impact people of color today. While overt racism has dramatically decreased in recent decades, racial minorities continue to suffer the long-term effects of racism. Understanding the context of historical and institutional racism is vital for an understanding of the current plight of racial minorities.
Watch Lecture 1
Lecture 2 • Why the Current Solutions Aren't Enough
Wednesday, March 6, 7:30 pm
Despite the continuing racial alienation in our society, we have struggled to find workable solutions. Faced as we are with the ongoing impact of institutional racism, a colourblind perspective is not useable. But Dr. Yancey argues that antiracism, a popular alternative linked to identity politics, has not proven to be useful either. This lecture addresses problems connected with antiracism and identity politics.
Watch Lecture 2
Lecture 3 • Theology and Sociology of Conversation
Thursday, March 7, 7:30 pm
In his final lecture, Dr. Yancey presents the idea that collaborative conversations offer a better approach to addressing racial alienation. Demonstrating that this approach has both empirical backing and scriptural support, Dr. Yancey concludes by arguing that, of all the available options for addressing the ongoing problem of racism, collaborative conversation is best aligned with the basic tenets of Christianity.
Watch Lecture 3
About the Laing Lectures
The Laing Lectures began at Regent College in 1999 in cooperation with Roger and Carol Laing and in honour of their father, William John Laing. The purpose of the lectures is to encourage persons recognized for scholarship, wisdom, and creativity to undertake serious thought and original writing on an issue of significance for the Christian church and to promote the sharing of such thoughts through a series of public lectures.
The material presented by Laing Lecturers is intended to move beyond an analysis of historic and current concerns to provide proposals for alternative action for the Christian church. In doing so, lecturers are invited to explore in an interdisciplinary way the relationship between Christianity and culture, and to suggest ways in which that relationship might lead to greater flourishing of the church, the larger human household, and the whole community of creation.
The following speakers have delivered Laing Lectures: Neil Postman (2000), Charles Taylor (2001), Peter Berger (2002), Margaret Visser (2004), Miroslav Volf (2006), Nicholas Wolterstorff (2007), Walter Brueggemann (2008), Susan Wise Bauer (2010), Albert Borgmann (2011), Rex Murphy (2012), Ellen T. Charry (Spring 2014), Ross Douthat (Fall 2014), Iain McGilchrist (2016), Marilynne Robinson (2017), Stanley Hauerwas (2018), Malcolm Guite (2019), John Milbank (2022), Curt Thompson (2023), George Yancey (2024), and Janet Martin Soskice (2025).
