Conscience at Fordham

FORDHAM CENTER ON RELIGION AND CULTURE | HEADLINE FORUM

Matters of Conscience
When Moral Precepts Collide with Public Policy

Tuesday, 28 April 2009 | 6 – 8 p.m.
Fordham University | Lincoln Center Campus
Pope Auditorium | 113 West 60th Street

What happens when individuals or institutions are called upon to cooperate with actions that they consider gravely immoral but that the law and public policy allow?

Recent legislative and judicial developments touching on life, death, sexuality, and family have stirred deep conflicts about moral and religious norms.

Should “conscience clauses” protect individuals or institutions from being compelled to cooperate with conduct that violates their religious or moral principles?

Can protection for conscience be balanced against the rights of those seeking morally controversial but lawful services?

MODERATOR
Russell Pearce, the Edward and Marilyn Bellet Chair in Legal Ethics, Morality and
Religion, Fordham University School of Law

PANEL
Douglas Kmiec, professor of constitutional law and Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University
Marc D. Stern, acting co-executive director of the American Jewish Congress, and a leading expert on church-state issues
Nadine Strossen, professor of law at New York Law School, and past president of the American Civil Liberties Union
Robert Vischer, associate professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School

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FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
R.S.V.P: [email protected] or (212) 636-7347
For more information: www.fordham.edu/ReligCulture