Oct. 26, 2022

Contact Rick Kyte at 608-796-3704 or rlkyte@viterbo.edu or Jill Miller at 608-796-3615 or jmmiller@viterbo.edu

SPRINGTIDE RESEARCH INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO PRESENT “THE STATE OF RELIGION AND YOUNG PEOPLE” AT VITERBO UNIVERSITY NOV. 10

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Springtide Research Institute executive director Josh Packard, PhD, will present “The State of Religion and Young People” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Nola Starling Recital Hall. The event will also be streamed on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/viterboethics.

Packard is an accomplished researcher with expertise in the sociology of religion and new forms of religious expression. He earned a PhD in sociology from Vanderbilt University and is the author of several books, including Meaning Making: 8 Values that Drive America’s Newest Generations, Church Refugees: Why People are Done with Church but Not their Faith, and the recent Stuck: Why Clergy Are Alienated from Their Calling, Congregation, and Career ... and What to Do about It.

A popular speaker at conferences, workshops, and other events, Packard has also been a guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts. He and been widely published in academic and popular outlets including Christianity Today, The Aspen Institute, The Huffington Post, Desert News, and the Christian Science Monitor.

This presentation at Viterbo is based on data from the Springdale Research Institute’s annual State of Religion and Young People study that examines the need to rethink everything when it comes to ways to engage the most diverse generation in history. According to the organization’s website, the “Springtide Research Institute is committed to understanding the distinct ways new generations experience and express community, identity, and meaning. We combine quantitative and qualitative research to reflect and amplify the lived realities of young people as they navigate shifting social, cultural, and religious landscapes.”

This presentation is part of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership fall lecture series and the Viterbo University Seven Rivers Undergraduate Research Symposium. It is free and open to the public.

For a full schedule of D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership events, visit www.viterbo.edu/ethics.

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