Fall Symposium to to explore Church and State in Colonial Virginia
The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan College is an academic initiative committed to fostering and deepening our understanding of religious freedom in our increasingly diverse world. The Center's Fall 2007 Symposium is a six-part series that will address "From Jamestown to Jefferson: The Evolution of Religious Authority in Colonial Virginia."
This Symposium is intended to make a contribution to the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Jamestown landing and the founding of the Virginia Colony.
Each program will consist of a public lecture followed by audience discussion, and each will be offered twice: once at 11 a.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. in the Boyd Dining Center at Virginia Wesleyan College. All programs are free and open to the public; no reservations are required.
September
Thursday, September 6: The First Decades of the Established Church
Brent Tarter, M.A., Program Manager and Editor of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Library of Virginia.
When did the Church of England become a viable established church in colonial Virginia? How was the church's legal and political authority played out in the hard realities of colonial life?
Thursday, September 20: Lived Religion in Colonial Virginia
Edward L. Bond, Ph.D., Professor of History, Alabama A&M University
What was the role of religious belief and practice in the daily lives of the colonists? What was the relationship of popular piety to established church authority?
October
Thursday, October 4: The Role of "Dissenting" Churches
Monica Najar, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Lehigh University
What social and religious influences contributed to the emergence of dissenting groups? What was the impact of English and colonial law on dissenting churches? What role did women play in dissenting movements?
Thursday, October 18: Unorthodox Religions in Colonial Virginia
Philip D. Morgan, Ph.D., Harry C. Black Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University
What was the legal and social status of Roman Catholicism, witchcraft, slave religions, Native American traditions, and other "outsider religions"? What issues of authority, control and law influenced the official response to these groups?
Thursday, October 25: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Thomas E. Buckley, S.J., Ph.D., Professor of Modern Christian History, Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley/Graduate Theological Union
What realities of the Virginia situation allowed the statute to emerge here? What were the main political, legal and theological arguments over the statute? How did it affect the nature of religious authority?
November
Thursday, November 8: Significance of Colonial Virginia's Religious Journey for Today
Daniel L. Dreisbach, J.D., D.Phil., Professor, Department of Justice, Law and Society, American University School of Public Affairs
What are the enduring themes of religious liberty in the American experience, and how did Virginians help shape these themes? What lessons can we learn today from the past struggle to create a regime of religious liberty in Virginia and the new nation?
To read more about the Center's Fall 2007 Symposium, view the online newsletter.
For more information on the Fall 2007 Symposium events, contact the Center at 757.455.3129 or csrf@vwc.edu.
08/29/07