Spring 2013 Newletter
Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
A resource for education, respectful dialogue, and mutual understanding for people of all faith traditions - or none
Contraception, Religious Freedom, and the Affordable Care Act
A panel of Virginia Wesleyan faculty—Professors Sharon Payne, Sue Larkin, Leslie Caughell, and Center Director Paul Rasor—will examine the women’s health care concerns and the religious freedom issues raised by the ACA’s contraception mandate.
Program Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013
12:00 p.m., Pearce Hospitality Suite
Religious Freedom and the Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that employers who offer health insurance must cover a range of preventive services for women, including contraception. Since November 2011, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the ACA... [read more]
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
"Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy...[read more]
Walking in Each Other's Religious Shoes
This past May (2012), the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles revoked a local man’s personalized (“vanity”) license plates because they could be considered offensive. The license plates said “ICUHAJI”... [read more]
From Jamestown to Jefferson: The Evolution of Religious Freedom in Virginia
This highly regarded work stems from the Center's Fall 2007 Symposium on religious freedom in colonial Virginia
University of Virginia Press, March 2011.
Religious Freedom Documents
Explore the texts of several important historical and contemporary documents addressing religious liberty.
Renowned Theologian Harvey Cox to Deliver Cookson Religious Freedom Lecture
Dr. Harvey G. Cox Jr., Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and one of the nation’s preeminent theologians, will deliver the 2012 Cookson Religious Freedom Lecture entitled “Freedom of Religion in America: Its Rocky Past and Its Future Prospects.”
Program Date:
Monday, November 5, 2012
7:30 p.m. in Monumental Chapel
“Interfaith Dialogue”
“Interfaith Dialogue” is a monthly discussion concerning current events and news reports as they relate to various Faith communities. Panelists appear each month with moderator Jim Bergdoll for this 30 minute dialogue.
They carry only the meaning we give them.
Director of the Center
