AÂ retired professor of philosophy, religion, and community health will discuss the separation of church and state during a Tuesday presentation at Lunch with the League.
Paul W. Sharkey, who has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a postdoctoral master of public health degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, will be the featured speaker at Tuesday’s lunch, which starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
Sharkey’s presentation will be titled “Separation of Church and State: Protecting Your Religious Freedom.”
“Various attempts to impose through governmental sanctions one’s own religious beliefs and behaviors on others in the name of ‘religious freedom’ are all too apparent,” the press release said, based upon information provided by Sharkey. “This not only takes the form of discrimination against those belonging to some well-established but locally unpopular religious traditions but also to those who, even for personal religious reasons, refuse to ‘confess’ their religious beliefs to others and to those non-believers who assert their right to be free from religion based upon the principle that in a religiously pluralistic society, freedom of religion presupposes freedom from religion.”
Lunch with the League is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it is open to the public. There is no cost to attend, and reservations are not needed. Box lunches will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis for $7, or you may bring your own. Coffee and tea are provided.
For more information, visit lwvoakridge.org.
The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Leave a Reply