Anthea Butler will present a talk, “The Sexy Puritans: Pentecostal Women's Sexuality, from McPherson to Palin,” at noon Thursday, Dec. 4, in the Diversity Center on Drury’s campus.

Butler was quoted in a recent article on “Salon.com” that analyzed the religious background of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In that article Butler compared Palin’s speaking style to that of early 20th century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.

Butler is an assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester and a visiting research professor at the Harvard Divinity School. She is a historian of American and African American Religion, specializing in African American Religious History, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, Gender, and Religion and Popular culture.

The Diversity Center is located on the northwest corner of Drury Lane and Bob Barker Boulevard.