A Conversation with Authors Shadi Hamid & Matthew Kaemingk
Can Religion Save Democracy?
A Conversation with Authors Shadi Hamid & Matthew Kaemingk
Thursday, October 1, 2026
5-6 PM
Hendricks Chapel
Hosted by the Christian Staff & Faculty Association of Hendricks Chapel
Muslim political scientist Shadi Hamid and Christian theologian Matthew Kaemingk, authors of the new book, Can Religion Save Democracy?, lead the Faith and the Future of Democracy Initiative at Georgetown University and co-host the podcast Zealots at the Gate. They explore faith, pluralism, and politics in the context of deeply held convictions, charting a new paradigm for navigating differences. Moderated by Chris Faricy, PhD, Director, Campbell Public Affairs Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.
Moderated by Chris Faricy, PhD
Director, Campbell Public Affairs Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs
About Shadi Hamid
Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, where he co-directs the Faith and Future of Democracy Initiative. From 2023 to 2024, he was a member of the Post’s Editorial Board. Previously, he was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Hamid is the author of several books, including most recently Can Religion Save Democracy?and The Case For American Power. His book Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the Worldwas shortlisted for the 2017 Lionel Gelber Prize for best book on foreign affairs.
In 2019, Hamid was named one of the world’s top 50 thinkers by Prospect magazine. He is also the co-founder of Wisdom of Crowds, a podcast, newsletter, and debate platform. Hamid received his B.S. and M.A. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and his Ph.D. in political science from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
About Dr. Matthew Kaemingk
Dr. Matthew Kaemingk is a Christian ethicist and public theologian. He serves as Professor of Public Theology at Theological University Utrecht and Senior Research Fellow at Georgetown University. Kaemingk is an award-winning author and frequent public speaker for universities, think tanks, and religious organizations interested in exploring the intersection between religion, politics, and deep difference. He is the author and editor of several books on faith and public life including Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear (Eerdmans, 2018) and Reformed Public Theology (2021). In addition to writing and speaking, Kaemingk co-hosts an innovative new podcast on religion and politics alongside Dr. Shadi Hamid called Zealots at the Gate. Kaemingk is a Fulbright scholar and holds a doctoral degree in Systematic Theology from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and Christian Ethics from Fuller Theological Seminary. In addition to his academic writing some of Kaemingk’s more popular level articles can be found in Christianity Today, Comment Magazine, and Plough.