Grawemeyer Religion Award Goes To University of Pennsylvania Professor

The University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary are giving the 2012 Grawemeyer Award in Religion to a University of Pennsylvania history professor. Dr. Barbara Savage is being honored for ideas set forth in her book Your Spirits Walk Beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion.The book explores the relationship between African-American churches and political activism.Savage says the two have not always been intertwined. "What one sees if you look back in history, is that there’s always been a great deal of debate and controversy and argument, both within the church and outside of black churches, about what the public responsibility and the political role of churches ought to be," she said. Savage says the Grawemeyer Award is a recognition of the African-American history she’s been working to preserve. Grawemeyer Awards are presented annually in the fields of music, education, psychology, religion and ideas improving world order. Listen to the interview with Dr. Barbara Savage: