Culture

Culture involves what human beings make of the world. It is what we create, how we interact with these creations, and how we interact with each other. We all make up culture. How do we affect our culture? How do we make it better or worse? How does it flourish?

For Richer or Poorer:

What Dating, Living Together, Marriage, and Divorce Have to do with Happiness and Success Today


Skip Burzumato


November 16, 2023

7:00 - 8:30pm

Skyline Middle School, Harrisonburg


Join us for a presentation by sociologist Skip Burzumato, followed by a moderated Q&A. Burzumato will first explore the latest research and trends in America as it pertains to marriage, divorce, cohabitation, family formation, etc., relying on sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Pew Research Center, The Brookings Institution, and the General Social Survey. 


He will next consider what may be the greatest issue facing our society as it pertains to family: that there is a great divide along socioeconomic status and educational lines for almost every family and child outcome variable measured. Burzumato here relies on research from several important works published in recent years by Andrew Cherlin, Robert Putnam, Susan Brown, and, most recently, Melissa Kearney. The data suggest that what is most important for child wellbeing and positive outcomes is that children grow up with two parents, and that family form is secondary.

Skip Burzumato

Skip Burzumato received a B.A. and M.A. in sociology from the University of Memphis and an M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary. Before joining the Bridgewater faculty in 2011, he was the Associate Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute for Family Studies. His research interests include marriage, family, courtship and dating, food systems and hunger issues in America, and the social history of jazz music.

For the Good of the City: 

How to be a christian in harrisonburg

February 19, 2013

At Aletheia Church

Featuring Craig Bartholomew, Mark Thiessen-Nation, and Gerald McDermott


"God is not Great, and religion poisons everything." This is the serious accusation of Christopher Hitchens, one of the most prolific and brilliant journalists of our time. This Café Veritas explores the ways various Christian traditions attempt to contribute to the good of society.


Craig Bartholomew is the H. Evan Runner Professor of Philosophy at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada; Dean of the St. George's Centre for Biblical and Public Theology; and Writer-in-Residence for the Church of the Incarnation.


Mark Thiessen-Nation is a Professor of Theology at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.


Gerald McDermott served as the event respondent and is the Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College and a Distinguished Senior Fellow, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion


You can listen to Part 1 with Craig Bartholomew by clicking here.


You can listen to Part 2 with Mark Thiessen-Nation by clicking here.


You can listen to the Response with Gerald McDermott by clicking here.