News & Events

Duke Religion Scholar to Present at UNC Asheville: “Johnny Cash in the Holy Land: Christian Zionism and American Popular Culture”

February 29, 2012

Duke University religion scholar Shalom Goldman, together with folksinger Lisa Deaton, will present “Johnny Cash in the Holy Land: Christian Zionism and American Popular Culture,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, in UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center Mountain View conference room 417. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies at UNC Asheville.

Goldman, author of "Zeal for Zion: Christians, Jews, and the Idea of the Promised Land" (University of North Carolina Press, 2009), argues that Christian Zionism in America actually is much older and broader than most realize and involves an understanding of America as a kind of Israel-like promised land for people escaping religious and political persecution.

Among Goldman’s other works are “God’s Sacred Tongue: Hebrew and the American Imagination” (University of North Carolina Press, 2003), and the forthcoming book, “Demon’s Wager: Conversion, Apostasy, and Modern Jewish Identity.” Goldman is professor of Religion at Duke University and a contributing editor at Religiondispatches.org, an online magazine dedicated to the study of religion and public life.

Goldman refers to Johnny Cash in his presentation title because Cash was baptized in the Jordan River; he and his wife, June Carter Cash, traveled to Israel five times. “Johnny Cash symbolized for me the American popular culture enthusiasm for Israel,” states Goldman.

Folksinger Lisa Deaton will perform music related to Goldman’s talk. Deaton plays and sings with three bands, The Georgia Mudcats, an Appalachian String Band; Mulligan Stew, an Irish and old time band; and LD and The Blind Dates, an eclectic folkadelic acoustic band.

For more information, please visit the Center for Jewish Studies website or call 828.232.5027.