Leading religious scholar to speak on campus

Professor Alan Wolfe, founding director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, will deliver a plenary address, “Who’s Afraid of American Religion,” as part of the conference on “Religion and the State” hosted by the Lubar Institute for the Abrahamic Religions (LISAR) in cooperation with the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy (CSLD).

The free public lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, in the Gale VandeBurg Auditorium at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St.

Wolfe has authored numerous books on religion in a democratic society, including his current publication, “The Future of Liberalism” (Knopf 2009), which examines terrorism, globalization and the politics of religion from a liberal theoretical framework. The New York Times called two of Wolfe’s other books, “One Nation, After All” and “Moral Freedom” as “Notable Books of the Year.” Wolfe is also a contributing editor of The New Republic, The Wilson Quarterly, Commonwealth magazine and In Character, and he writes frequently for The New York Times, Harper’s, the Atlantic Monthly and the Washington Post.

“The analysis of how religious pluralism functions within the American liberal state is fundamental to understanding the conditions under which toleration is — or is not — possible in the United States and in the world,” says Professor Charles Cohen, LISAR’s director. “Few people can provide deeper insight into these issues than can Professor Wolfe.”

Donald Downs, director of CSLD and professor of political science, adds, “Alan Wolfe is one of America’s leading scholars and public intellectuals regarding social and political issues. His work presents a distinctive combination of depth and common sense, and generosity of spirit and critical intelligence. Wolfe leaves a lasting impact on readers.”

This fourth annual LISAR conference — the first held with a co-sponsor — continues the institute’s tradition of bringing leading public intellectuals like Wolfe to campus as part of the institute’s mission to inform and engage scholars and the general public in ongoing discussions of the Abrahamic traditions and their inter-relationships.

For more conference or institute information, contact Karen Turino at 608-263-1821 or LISAR@mailplus.wisc.edu.