VIDEO OF THIS EVENT IS COMING SOON!

Religious liberty is a highly debated concept among scholars and religious leaders today.  Traditionally, it has been understood as a bedrock ideal of the U.S. Constitution, which allows any religious body to be protected by law without being privileged.  But recent histories show that it has been used by dominant religious groups (Protestant and Catholic) to extend their legal and social influence, often at the expense of other communities–religious and otherwise.  Moreover, the concept has been instrumentalized in recent years to serve the various social and political agendas of of religious movements: from teachings around women’s reproduction to the political ambitions of white Christian nationalists.  In short, religious liberty intersects with issues of race, gender, privilege, politics and public life.  Some scholars call  for rehabilitating the concept, others for replacing it altogether;

Join us for this timely and spirited debate as we gather distinguished scholars from the Consortium and an organization that has worked on these issues for decades.  They will bring distinct perspectives from Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical and Black Church perspectives.  Each scholar will argue for different strategies of challenging or reinvigorating the concept altogether. Faculty members and program staff in Consortium schools and institutions are invited to join us for this 50th anniversary faculties convocation. This VIRTUAL event was held on Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m. ET.

Our distinguished panelists will be:

Atty. Holly Hollman, General Counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty

Dr. William Barbieri, Professor of Ethics and of Religion and Culture, The Catholic University of America

Dr. Teresa Smallwood, Associate Professor of Public Theology, United Lutheran Seminary

Dr. Rick Elgendy, Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary

The schedule for the event is as follows:

• 7 p.m. – Welcome and Introduction, followed by Panelist Presentations
• 7:50 – Panel Discussion
• 8:05 – Q & A with Faculty Members
• 8:30 – Faculty Groups Meet
• 9:00 – Reconvene and Reports
• 9:15 – Adjourn 

Download the flyer for the event..