Faith and Politics

It's that time of year...

FAITH AND POLITICS

A Dinner & Speaker Series
@ Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church Tuesday, October 7-28

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

OUR TOPIC FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
6-7:30 p.m.

Are We Sure We Want to Have This Conversation?
Peter Ochs, Religious Studies, UVA
Kay Neeley, Science, Technology, and Society, UVA

PETER OCHS is Edgar Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies. He works internationally to promote Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue in the public square and in academia.

KAY NEELEY holds a Ph.D. in English and has spent the last 29 years developing frameworks to help engineers communicate with non-experts about matters of social significance.

IN OUR INITIAL SESSION, we will explore the roots of and rationale for the taboo regarding conversations about religion and politics and become better acquainted with strategies that can make such conversations both possible and productive.

SERIES RATIONALE:
Both theology and political theory are concerned with what it means to be human and with defining and creating the conditions under which human beings can flourish. Yet the relationship between faith and politics is complicated and can be contentious. Indeed, both topics are often considered out of bounds in polite conversation. This series grows out of the belief that-especially in a university community-discussion about faith and politics can be both polite and enlightening.
Our goal is to bring together people from all faith traditions-along with people who do not consider themselves to be religious-to explore various aspects of the relationship between faith and politics. We particularly hope to engage people from the University community and to make the insights of academics accessible beyond the University's boundaries.

SPACE IS LIMITED AND REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BUT SIMPLE. Call 434-296-6976, fax 434-295-9567, or send an email message to wesleymemorial@earthlink.net. Please provide contact details and let us know about any special needs you may have. For directions to the church and other details, go to www.wesleymem.org or call the church office.