Media contact:
Julie Bunczak
julie.bunczak@uwc.edu
715-261-6234
A leading scholar on law and religion will headline the fall Veninga Lecture Series on Religion and Society on October 12.
“Religious Liberty for All in a Polarized Age” will be presented by Thomas C. Berg, professor of law and public policy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
“We live in polarized times, and in recent years disputes over religious liberty have contributed to the polarization,” Berg said. “Many Americans tend to emphasize liberty and equality for, for example, Muslims or same-sex couples. Many others tend to emphasize it for conservative Christians. There seems little overlap between those two groups.”
As an advocate for the rights of all these groups, Berg will present reasons why giving significant protection to all of them is most consistent with our constitutional values, and principles for defining the rights in cases of conflict so that neither undermines the other.
Berg has written approximately 50 book chapters and journal articles and dozens of op-eds and shorter pieces on religious freedom, constitutional law and the role of religion in law, politics and society. His work has been cited several times by the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals.
He teaches constitutional law, law and religion, intellectual property, and the religious liberty appellate clinic. In the clinic, Berg supervises students writing briefs on major religious liberty cases. He draws upon his expertise drafting nearly 40 briefs on issues of religious liberty and free speech in the Supreme Court and lower courts.
Thursday October 12, at 7 p.m.
UW Center for Civic Engagement
James F. Veninga Theater
625 Stewart AvenueWausau, WI
FREE and open to the public
Click here for flyer.
Jim Veninga, former UW-Marathon County dean, religious studies professor and a founding father of WIPPS, created this annual lecture series to help engage people on religion and its relationship to society.
This presentation is made possible through the support of the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation, Bremer and Trollop Law Offices, Church Mutual Insurance Company, UW-Marathon County, Mark and Ann Bradley, Christine and Paul Bremer Muggli, and Linda and Lane Ware.
