Distinguished Lecture on the Reformation featuring Mark Valeri

The Presbyterian Heritage Center is honored to host Dr. Mark Valeri as the 2026 Distinguished Lecturer on the Reformation on October 23rd, 2026. As part of the America 250 celebration, Dr. Valeri will be speaking on “Patriotism, the American Revolution, and the Reformed Tradition.”

As he described his presentation, “Presbyterian colonists in America were among the most patriotic supporters of the American Revolution. This talk will describe their participation in the rebellion and how their Reformed theological inheritance, from John Calvin on, shaped their political views. It will also describe how the Reformed tradition led them to criticize the new nation and reject assertions of a religious national identity.”

Dr. Valeri is the Rev. Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics and Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis.
He is one of the country’s leading authorities on how Protestant Christianity shaped early American society—and how early American society, economics, politics, and ideas about religious freedom in turn shaped Protestant Christianity.

Free and open to the public.