Talk to Examine Church-Based Activism

Kraig Beyerlein, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, explores congregation-based support for humanitarian aid in the desert and other models of activism in a lecture on Monday, Oct. 26, at 3:30 p.m. at Hieronymus Lounge in Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. The Office of Global Education Lecture, “Flooding the Desert: Faith-Based Mobilizing to Save Lives along the Arizona-Sonora Border,” is free and open to the public.

“Dr. Beyerlein will explore why some congregations resist supporting and participating in the humanitarian aid movement, and the consequences of congregation-based humanitarian service for activists, especially non-religious participants,” says Cynthia Toms, coordinator of the lecture series.

Beyerlein is a faculty fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, a faculty affiliate at the Center for the Study of Social Movements, faculty fellow with the Institute for Latinos Studies, and a faculty fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He teaches and studies behavior and social movements, civic engagement and volunteerism, social networks, and the sociology of religion. He earned a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He has published numerous articles in research journals such as the American Sociological Review, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Mobilization, Social Forces, and Social Problems. His research has been supported by various internal and external grants, including those from the Lilly Endowment, the Louisville Institute and the Spencer Foundation.