Roundtable on Religion in the Public Square

On Thursday, September 28, and Friday, September 29, the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University will host a roundtable on "Religion in the Public Square:  Religious Traditions Shaping Law and Public Policy."  Here's some information from the organizers:

The Roundtable explores the question: “What are the responsibilities of religious groups to influence the development of law and public policy in the United States?”  Various religious traditions understand their role in the public square in very different ways, and it is our hope that this Roundtable will provide an opportunity for fruitful dialog on this critical and timely subject.   

On Thursday morning,  we will have a panel on “Academic & Theological Perspectives on Religion in the Public Square^”   This panel will be a discussion among scholars from different faiths exploring the ways in which their tradition views its responsibility – vel non – to participate in the shaping of civil law and public policy.    Participants in this panel will address how their religious  tradition perceives its responsibilities in the public arena, where that belief has its historic or theological roots, and how that tradition has developed over time. 

            On Thursday afternoon,  we will have our panel on “Practical Perspectives on Religion in the Public Square.”  This second panel will turn to practical applications and ask how religious groups act on their perceptions of their responsibilities and how they organize to influence public policy and law. 

            On Friday morning, we will have a special panel for legal educators entitled, “Religion in the ‘Public Square’ of the Legal Academy.”    This will be a discussion for legal educators at both religiously affiliated and non-religiously affiliated law schools.  Panelists will address the ways in which they or their institutions address religious obligations to shape law and public policy, and the ways in which lawyers are trained to bring religious perspectives to bear in the public square.

Senator Sam Brownback will deliver the keynote address.

For more information, contact MOJ-friend Lucia Silecchia.