James Wood was the Director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University. The service begins with a word of prayer (0:00:00-0:01:55). James Wood is introduced as the Carver-Barnes Lecturer (0:01:56-0:03:47). Wood begins his lecture by stating his theme of the historical perspective of religion and politics in America (0:03:48-0:04:16). Wood describes the paradox of the American relationship between religion and politics, and he says that the nation’s people are deeply religious yet believe in the separation between church and state (0:04:17-0:15:13). Wood spends most of his lecture tracing the history of the relationship between religion and politics in America all way before the founding of the country to the rise of the religious right in the modern day (0:15:14-1:00:02). The service ends with the speaker dismissing the audience (1:00:03-1:00:34).
