Religion and Public Life Program to hold ‘Religion in the University’ lecture series

BY AMY HODGES
Rice News staff

ELAINE HOWARD ECKLUND

Does religion belong in a university? Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program (RPLP) will host “Religion and the University,” a lecture series Nov. 4-5 focusing on the controversial role of religion in higher education.

Featured speakers for the event include George Marsden, the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame; Julie Reuben, professor of education at Harvard University; and Amy Binder, associate professor of sociology at the University of California–San Diego.

The event is the first in a new lecture series hosted by the RPLP, which is housed in the Social Sciences Research Institute and directed by Elaine Howard Ecklund, associate professor of sociology. The program’s mission is to encourage productive conversations about religion and public life within the academy and between the academy and general public. The program includes scholars who study religion and religious leaders from different traditions. As a forum for research and engagement involving institutions, social groups and individuals, the RPLP is committed to mediating these conversations. Ultimately, the program trains students to do research and use research to expand understanding and advance dialogue about the role of religion in public life.

For more information on the event, visit http://rplp.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=118.