On Monday, the Cary Library will host the streamed lecture and discussion from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cary Library will offer pre- and post-lecture discussion around the lecture, focusing on Jacques Berlinerblau’s book, “How to Be Secular: A Call to Arms for Religious Freedom.”
Secularism is one of the most misunderstood “isms” in the entire American political lexicon. In this presentation, we try to get to the bottom of what secularism is, and most importantly, what secularism is not. The relation of the secular worldview to such ideas as liberalism, atheism, separationism, and accommodationism—among others—is examined and a status report of the contemporary secular predicament is rendered.
The facilitator will be Kathy Olmstead, editor and publisher of “Echoes”, a quarterly magazine about rural culture. She also writes a biweekly column for Bangor Daily. She will lead a short discussion before the lecture. Afterwards, we will discuss your questions and observations.
Jacques Berlinerblau is associate professor and director of the Program for Jewish Civilization at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has published on a wide variety of issues ranging from the composition of the Hebrew Bible, to the sociology of heresy, to modern Jewish intellectuals, to African-American and Jewish-American relations. Professor Berlinerblau’s most recent book is “How to Be Secular: A Call to Arms for Religious Freedom.”
