The Bentley Lecture

The Bentley Lecture series was created by the First Church in Salem to honor the Rev. William Bentley, minister of the East Church of Salem from 1783 to 1819. The East Church existed for almost 250 years, splitting from the First Church in Salem in 1717 and later reuniting with it in 1956. The lecture was founded in 1983 and made possible from a bequest by Mrs. Mary Ellen Beane, a descendant of the Rev. Samuel Beane, minister of the East Church from 1865 to 1878 and an admirer of William Bentley. The First Church and The Salem Athenaeum are proud to be co-sponsors of this event. For more information on William Bentley, please see below.

The Bentley Lecture 2007: Kevin Phillips: American Theocracy

Sunday, May 6, 2007 ~ 4:00 p.m.

The First Church in Salem, in collaboration with the Salem Atheneum, is proud to present this year's Bentley Lecturer, Kevin Phillips.

For more than three decades, Kevin Phillips has been consistently and “transcendentally right” (as one reviewer has put it) about the dynamics of political change in America and an avid analyst of the role of wealth in democracy. Kevin’s best-selling books have influenced presidential campaigns and changed the way America sees itself. In his two most recent New York Times bestsellers, American Dynasty and Wealth and Democracy, Kevin established himself as a powerful critic of the political and economic forces that are ruling—and imperiling—the U.S. Now, in American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, Kevin uncovers
and assails the political coalition, led by radical religion, that he believes is driving the country to the brink of disaster.One of Kevin’s first books, The Emerging Republican Majority, set the political strategy for Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign in 1968 and transformed the American political landscape for the generation that followed. Phillips’ commitment to public service and strong sense of history make his presentations valuable to any audience—business, college, or public forum—that cares about where America is headed in the future. Called a “modern Thomas Paine,” Kevin Phillips is a regular commentator for National Public Radio and a former commentator
for CBS News.

Credentials:

• Strategic advisor to President Nixon
• Former editor-publisher, The American Political Report
• Contributing columnist, Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal
• Regular commentator for National Public Radio
• Former commentator, CBS TV News at the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Democratic and Republican National conventions.

American Theocracy

From ancient Rome to the British Empire, world-dominating
powers are brought down by the combination of global overreach,
militant religion, diminishing resources and ballooning debt—just
the combination now at work in the United States, argues Kevin
Phillips in American Theocracy. The book continues the themes
that Kevin has been exploring throughout his career: the corrosive
influence of wealth on democracy, the role of monied interests
in political circles and the dynamics of political change. This
extraordinary book adds new depth to his arguments and a new
(for him) element of concern—the role of radical religion among
today’s political elites. At one time a Republican strategist, Kevin
has become a powerful independent critic of the party and its
abandonment of its own principles. With his trademark combination
of eloquent, persuasive prose and overwhelming historical
evidence, this book is certain to ignite an important discussion
about America’s course and to follow its predecessors onto the
bestseller charts.

Books:

• The Emerging Republican Majority (1969)
  
• The Politics of Rich and Poor:
  Wealth and the American Electorate
  in the Reagan Aftermath(1990)
  
• Boiling Point: Democrats, Republicans
  and the Decline of Middle-
  Class Prosperity (1993)
  
• Arrogant Capital: Washington,
  Wall Street, and the Frustration of
  American Politics (1994)
  
• The Cousins Wars: Religion, Politics
  and the Triumph of Anglo-America (1999)
• Wealth and Democracy: A Political
  History of the American Rich(2002)
  
• William McKinley (2003)
  
• American Dynasty: Aristocracy,
  Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit
  in the House of Bush (2004)
• American Theocracy: The Peril and
  Politics of Radical Religion, Oil,
  and Borrowed Money in the 21st
  Century (2006)
  

Past Bentley Lectures:

William Bentley

Rev. William Bentley: 1759 – 1819
Pastor of the East Church in Salem from 1783 to 1819

“The only evidence I wish to have of my integrity is a good life,
and as to faith, his can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.”

William Bentley was Pastor of the East Church in Salem for 36 years. Born in Boston, he entered Harvard College at the age of 14 and graduated with high honors in 1777. With a demonstrated gift for languages, he quickly became a senior Latin and Greek tutor at Harvard after his graduation. It was later said that he could read with facility some twenty different languages, including Greek, Hebrew, Latin, German, French and Arabic. After his studies and teaching at Harvard, Rev. Bentley was called to the East Church in Salem. As both a scholar and minister he immediately brought a sharp intellect and fresh perspective to the pulpit of the East Church. He was one of the first avowedly Unitarian ministers in this country and distinguished himself as being a voice of reason and tolerance in and around Salem. He is well-known locally for being the only Protestant minister in Salem to welcome a young Roman Catholic priest to Salem in 1790, thereby assisting in the founding of the first Ca tholic church north of Boston. A passionate Republican (i.e., Jeffersonian) in a region known for its Federalist sympathies, Bentley corresponded with likes of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. During the Jefferson Administration, he acted as a translator (of Arabic) and informal advisor to the President on Mediterranean affairs. Later Jefferson offered William Bentley the Presidency of the newly formed University of Virginia. The inimitable Rev. Bentley declined the offer, stating simply that he did not wish to leave Salem .

To contact us:

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The First Church in Salem
316 Essex Street
Salem, MA 01970
978-744-1551

Email: office @ firstchurchinsalem.org