At the Root of Religious Liberty
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 7:00PM Rethinking freedom of religion and the separation of church and state
with Msgr. Lorenzo ALBACETE, Theologian, author, columnist, Dr. Philip HAMBURGER, Professor of Law, Columbia University, and Dr. Kimberly SHANKMAN, Dean, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center and American Bible Society
Religious freedom and the relationship between Church and State have been hotly debated topics during the last few months, but remain the object of many misunderstandings. Because of its tendency to oppose faith and reason, contemporary culture also tends to reduce freedom of religion to freedom of worship. For the same reason, it also understands the question of the relationship of Church and State as the problem of drawing a correct line of separation between an essentially private religious dimension and a self-sufficient and essentially secular public sphere. Whereas many people realize that these attitudes are inadequate, it is not always easy to pinpoint their philosophical and historical origins. Nevertheless, this is an urgent task because freedom of religion is, in the words of Pope John Paul II, the source of all other rights, because it implies the recognition that every human person is not just a product of biological and social factors, but is ultimately capable of recognizing a transcendent origin to his or her existence and to enter into relationship with it. In turn, this implies that the State cannot claim to be the source of social and political rights, and that the idea of a "purely secular" public sphere is both absurd and implicitly totalitarian.
The event is open to the public and free of charge.About this Event
Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2012Time: 7pm
Location: The American Bible Society
1865 Broadway at 61st Street
New York, NY
click here for map
About the Speakers
Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete Theologian, author, columnist
Dr. Philip Hamburger Professor of Law, Columbia University
Dr. Kimberly Shankman Dean of Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
Invitation
download hereTranscript
Read Albacete's commentsRead Shankman's presentation
Article of Interest
Against Separation by Philip HamburgerVideo
Part I - Introduction, Prof. HamburgerPart II - Kimberly Shankman
Part III - Msgr. Albacete, Q&A
Photos - click on image below
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