BUFFALO, NY – Canisius University’s Joseph J. Naples Conversations in Christ and Culture Lecture Series will welcome New York Times opinion columnist and bestselling author Ross Douthat to campus this spring. Douthat will deliver a lecture titled “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious” on Tuesday, April 7, at 7:00 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Douthat has been an opinion columnist at The New York Times since 2009, where his column appears every Tuesday and Sunday. He is also the host of the Times Opinion podcast Interesting Times. Previously, he served as a senior editor at The Atlantic and has been the film critic for National Review since 2007.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Decadent Society (2020), The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery (2021), To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (2018), and his most recent book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious (2025), which serves as the foundation for his lecture at Canisius.
The annual Joseph J. Naples Conversations in Christ and Culture Lecture Series fosters thoughtful dialogue on pressing questions at the intersection of Christianity, culture and public life, promoting understanding across religious, ethnic and social lines. The series is sponsored by the Canisius University Institute for the Global Study of Religion and the generosity of the ecumenical community of Western New York.
For more information about the lecture or upcoming events, contact Philip Reed, PhD, professor of philosophy, at 716-888-2609 or @email.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
