This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 28, 2011 - Laura R. Olson a Clemson University professor of political science. will speak on "The Politics of 'Spiritual But Not Religious' in America" at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Washington University's Women's Building. The university's John C. Danforth Center for Religion and Politics is sponsoring the talk.
Her research focuses on contemporary religion, civic engagement and American politics, with special emphasis on the political attitudes and behaviors of clergy. She is a former visiting research fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author, co-author, or co-editor of eight books. and is completing a new book on the Protestant left in American politics.
Olson, who is widely quoted on television and in print on the convergence of Religion and Politics, is a former chair of the American Political Science Association's Religion and Politics section and served on the American Academy of Religion's Committee for the Public Understanding of Religion. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Patricia Rice is a freelance writer who often covers religion.