T H O M A S M O R E . E D U / R E L I G I O U S L I B E R T Y 3 3 3 T H O M A S M O R E P A R K W A Y, C R E S T V I E W H I L L S , K Y 4 1 0 1 7

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Religious freedom: an unalienable right

Established in 2015, the mission of the Institute for Religious Liberty is to advance the American concept of religious freedom as an unalienable right and the protection of this right for all people. Headed by Executive Director Raymond

G. Hebert, Ph.D., Dean of the University Emeritus, the Institute strives to accomplish its mission through education and dialogue in the form of academic symposia and lectures featuring internationally renowned speakers.

events to date2017

February 17 & 18, 2017 - Academic Symposium

Feb. 17 featured best-selling Author Joshua Charles with panel discussion by J.T. Spence, Ph.D., of

Thomas More University and Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D., of Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Feb.

18 featured Kevin E. Schmiesing, Ph.D., a research fellow for the Acton Institute with panel discussion

moderated by Joshua Charles. Panelists include: Kevin Brown, Ph.D., Asbury University, Sister Mary Kay Kramer, CDP, Thomas More

University alumna and adjunct professor, and Brett Greenhalgh, Cincinnati Ohio Stake President of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

November 8, 2017 - Common OriginsAn interfaith dialogue moderated by Catherine

Sherron, Ph.D., Thomas More University featuring Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in

Talmud and Halakhic Literature at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, Jeff Zalar,

Ph.D., holder of the Ruth J. and Robert A. Conway Endowed Chair in Catholic Studies at the University

of Cincinnati, and Waleed El-Ansary, Ph.D., the Helal, Hisham, and Laila Edris El-Swedey University

Chair in Islamic Studies at Xavier University

2018January 24, 2018 -

Religious Liberty at a CrossroadsLecture on legal perspectives with featured

speakers Kevin C. Walsh, J.D., of the University of Richmond School of Law,

Frederick Mark Gedicks, J.D., Guy Anderson Chair and Professor of Law at the J. Reuben

Clark Law School of Brigham Young University, and Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Moderated by Kathleen Jagger, Ph.D.,

TMU Vice President for Academic Affairs.

November 15, 2018 - David Campbell, Ph.D., Packey J. Dee

Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame and co-author of the book, “American Grace: How Religion Divides

and Unites Us.” Rabbi Michael Dansiger, Jolene Edmunds Rockwood (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and Father Nicholas Rottman served as commentators.

Catherine Sherron, Ph.D., Thomas More University served as moderator

mission and goal of the institute

Organizational Chart

executive committee

executive directorRaymond G. Hebert, Ph.D.

Dean of the University Emeritus

2019February 7, 2019 -

Religious Freedom:Our First,

Most Cherished Liberty

featured speakers:The Most Reverend

William Edward Lori, S.T.D.

Sixteenth Archbishopof the Archdiocese of Baltimore and

Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a

University Fellow, and Associate Professor of

Political Science at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Rev. Gerald

Twaddell, D.Phil., Thomas More University,

served as moderator

2016February 10, 2016 -

Inaugural Event in Partnership

with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute

of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio

Lecture with featured speakers

Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.,

Archbishop of Louisville and President, U.S.

Conference of Catholic Bishops

and Rabbi David Saperstein,

U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom

2019 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEJoseph L. Chillo, LP.D.

President, Thomas More UniversityAffiliation: Roman Catholic

Raymond G. Hebert, Ph.D.Executive Director

Dean of Thomas More University EmeritusAffiliation: Roman Catholic

Aaron BludworthPresident & CEO, Fern

Affiliation: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Jackie CongedoDirector, Jewish Community Relations Council

Affiliation: Jewish

Caitlin Shaughnessy DwyerDepartment of Theology, Thomas More University

Affiliation: Roman Catholic

Brett A. GreenhalghCFO, Signature Hardware

Affiliation: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Joan (Wernersbach) Robinson ’69Civic Leader

Affiliation: Roman Catholic

Robert B. SatheChairman, MCF Advisors

Former Thomas More University Board of TrusteesAffiliation: Lutheran

Andrew “A.J.” Schaeffer, J.D. ’96Managing Member, Tufco Flooring, LLC

Current Thomas More University Board of TrusteesAffiliation: Roman Catholic

Gary P. Zola, Ph.D.Executive Directer, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives

Affiliation: Jewish

The Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III ’67 Institute for Religious Liberty at Thomas More University in partnership with Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion held their Inaugural Event on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at the Connor Convocation Center on the TMU Crestview Hills campus. The event featured two religious thought leaders: U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom Rabbi David Saperstein, and Archbishop of Louisville and the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops the Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.

During the evening’s event, attendee Michael Galligan-Stierle, Ph.D., President/CEO of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities commented that, “Of the nearly 1,000 scholarly centers and institutes at Catholic universities, some of which look at religion and politics or religion and law, Thomas More University is the only one I know of with a clear and sharp focus on religious liberty.”

BEGINNINGS“The genesis for the Institute came about as several local

business leaders from various religious backgrounds gathered to discuss the need to celebrate and educate others about our Constitutional privilege to practice our religion and worship as we see fit,” said former Thomas More University President David A. Armstrong, J.D. “There is no better place to advance and explore that inalienable right than here on our campus as we challenge our students of all faiths to examine the ultimate meaning of life, their place in the world, and their responsibility to others.”

“Religious Freedom is part of the warp and woof of our nation,” said Dr. Gary P. Zola, who represents Hebrew Union College on the Institute’s Steering Committee. “In light of contemporary events that capture the headlines daily, it is difficult to identify a more salient and timely subject to explore in a forum of this sort.”

MISSION: To advance the American concept of religious freedomas an inalienable right and the protection of this right for all people.

R e l i g i o u s f r e e d o m : a n u n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t

Photo: The original Executive Committee of the Institute for Religious Liberty with inaugural event speakers Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D., Archbishop of Louisville and President, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (fifth from left), and Rabbi David Saperstein, U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom (sixth from left). The Most Reverend Roger J. Foys, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Covington (second from left) was in attendance as Chancellor of Thomas More College. The committee includes (starting left): Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III (Member-in-charge of No. KY Offices Frost Brown Todd LLC), Brett A. Greenhalgh, Aaron Bludworth (President & CEO Fern), Dr. Gary P. Zola (Executive Directer, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives), Rabbi Kenneth A. Kanter (Associate Dean, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion), former TMC President David A. Armstrong, J.D.

Collateral materials announcing the 2016 IRL inaugural event.

presents an academic symposiumfeaturing best-selling authorjoshua charles

feb. 17 & 18, 2017

Friday | Feb. 17, 2017 | 7:30-9 p.m.Connor Convocation Center, Thomas More College campusThe Thomas More College Institute for Religious Liberty presents key-note speaker Joshua Charles, best-selling author of Liberty’s Secrets: The Lost Wisdom of America’s Founders, and co-author with Glenn Beck of the #1 New York Times best-selling book The Original Argument. The keynote address is followed by a panel discussion including TMC’s own J.T. Spence, Ph.D., and Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D., of Union University in Jackson, Tenn.Public reception and book signing at the conclusion of the program.

Saturday | Feb. 18, 2017 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m.Steigerwald Hall (Saints Center)

This follow-up event features speaker Kevin E. Schmiesing, Ph.D., a research fellow for the Acton Institute and well-known author on Catholic social thought and economics. The panel discussion on the crucial link between religious liberty and economic freedom will be moderated by Joshua Charles. Panelists include: Kevin Brown, Ph.D., Asbury University, Sister Mary Kay Kramer, CDP, Thomas More College alumna and adjunct professor, and Brett Greenhalgh, Cincinnati Ohio Stake President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and founding member of the Institute for Religious Liberty’s Executive Committee.

please join us! free and open to the public

333 THOMAS MORE PARKWAY, CRESTVIEW HILLS, KY 41017 | 859-341-5800 | 1-844-MYTMC4U | THOMASMORE.EDU

For more information visit: THOMASMORE.EDU/RELIGIOUSLIBERTY

Established in 2015, the mission of the Institute for Religious Liberty is to advance the American concept of religious freedom as an inalienable right and the protection of this right for all people. Headed by Executive Director, Raymond G. Hebert, Ph.D., Dean of the College Emeritus, the Institute strives to accomplish its mission through education and dialogue in the form of academic symposiums and lectures featuring internationally renowned speakers.

Priority seating is available by confirming your attendance online before Wednesday, Feb. 15. Individuals and groups are welcome. Free and open to the public. Reserve your spot today by visiting: THOMASMORE.EDU/RESERVE

Poster announcement of the IRL 2017 Academic Symposium.

religious liberty:common origins

an interfaith dialoguewednesday | nov. 8, 2017 | 7 p.m.

steigerwald hall | saints center

Brought to you by:

please join us! free and open to the public

3 3 3 T H O M A S M O R E P A R K W A Y , C R E S T V I E W H I L L S , K Y 4 1 0 1 7 | 8 5 9 - 3 4 1 - 5 8 0 0 | 1 - 8 4 4 - M Y T M C 4 U

For more information visit: THOMASMORE.EDU/RELIGIOUSLIBERTY

Established in 2015, the mission of the Institute for Religious Liberty is to advance the American concept of religious freedom as an inalienable right and the protection of this right for all people. Headed by Executive Director, Raymond G. Hebert, Ph.D., Dean of the College Emeritus, the Institute strives to accomplish its mission through education and dialogue in the form of academic symposiums and lectures featuring internationally renowned speakers.

Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D.Cohen, an Israeli-born scholar, was appointed Assistant Professor in Talmud and Halakhic Literature at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in

Cincinnati, Ohio, in July 1998, and Director of the Hebrew Union College-University of Cincinnati Center for the Study of Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems in January 2000. In November 2003, he was awarded the Rabbi Michael Matuson Professorship for Emerging Scholars, and was named Affiliate Member of the Laboratoire Des etudes sur les Monothéismes of the French CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) in August 2005. Cohen was appointed Dean of the Cincinnati campus in September 2011, and ordained a rabbi in 2012.

Jeff Zalar, Ph.D. Zalar is a Marine veteran of Operation “Just Cause” in Panama in 1989-90 and the First Gulf War in 1990-91. After his military service, he earned an Honors BA in History

and Theology from Marquette University and a Ph.D. with Distinction in modern German cultural and intellectual history from Georgetown University. Zalar also studied at the University of Kiel and the University of Cologne, both in Germany. His research is in the history of Catholic ideas and the religious foundations of Western Civilization. Zalar is an assistant professor of history and the inaugural holder of the Ruth J. and Robert A. Conway Endowed Chair in Catholic Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

Waleed El-Ansary, Ph.D. El-Ansary is the Helal, Hisham, and Laila Edris El-Swedey University Chair in Islamic Studies at Xavier University, where he teaches courses on comparative religion, Islamic religion,

and science. His research focuses on the intersection of religion, science, and Islamic economics. His latest work includes a book sponsored by a UNESCO-based organization, the Aladdin Project which will be the main pedagogical tool in a program that seeks to familiarize theological students with the other two monotheist religions as described by prominent authorities in those religions. Dr. El-Ansary is a consultant to the former Grand Mufti of Egypt and studied economics at George Washington University (BA 1986) and the University of Maryland (MA 1998) and religious and Islamic studies at George Washington University (MPhil 2005; PhD 2006).

Moderated by Catherine Sherron, Ph.D., TMC Chair of Philosophy. Featured speakers include:

Poster announcement of the IRL 2018 interfaith dialogue.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

religious liberty at a crossroads:

legal perspectivesWEDNESDAY | JAN. 24, 2018 | 7 p.m.

on the campus of thomas more college

Brought to you by:

please join us! free and open to the public

3 3 3 T H O M A S M O R E P A R K W A Y , C R E S T V I E W H I L L S , K Y 4 1 0 1 7 | 8 5 9 - 3 4 1 - 5 8 0 0 | 1 - 8 4 4 - M Y T M C 4 U

For more information visit: THOMASMORE.EDU/RELIGIOUSLIBERTY

Established in 2015, the mission of the Institute for Religious Liberty is to advance the American concept of religious freedom as an inalienable right and the protection of this right for all people. Headed by Executive Director, Raymond G. Hebert, Ph.D., Dean of the College Emeritus, the Institute strives to accomplish its mission through education and dialogue in the form of academic symposia and lectures featuring internationally renowned speakers.

Moderated by Kathleen Jagger, Ph.D., TMC Vice President for Academic Affairs

Ilya Shapiro is a Senior Fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute (a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace) and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Before Cato, he was a special assistant/adviser to the Multi-National Force in Iraq and litigated at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb. Shapiro has contributed to

many academic, popular, and professional publications and regularly appears on TV and radio. He periodically testifies before Congress and has filed more than 200 “friend of the court” briefs in the Supreme Court. Shapiro clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the Fifth Circuit and holds degrees from Princeton, the London School of Economics, and the University of Chicago.

Frederick Mark Gedicks, J.D., is Guy Anderson Chair and Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University, where he has taught constitutional law, freedom of religion, and philosophy of law since 1990. Gedicks has published and lectured widely in the U.S. and Europe on the nature and role of religion in contemporary public life, including three books, Choosing the Dream

(Greenwood, 1991), The Rhetoric of Church and State (Duke, 1995), and Constitutional Law and Religion (West Academic, forthcoming 2018).

Gedicks was also principal author and counsel of record on a widely publicized amicus brief for himself and other church/state scholars in the Hobby Lobby litigation. His current projects involve justifications for and limits on religious exemptions, and challenges to the philosophical bases for originalism as a constitutional interpretive method.

THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS IS FOLLOWED BY THE FOLLOWING SPEAKERS OFFERING COUNTERPOINTS:

Kevin C. Walsh, J.D., of the University of Richmond School of Law teaches and writes in the areas of federal jurisdiction, constitutional law, and religious liberty. His scholarship explores the doctrines that define—and delimit—the scope of federal judicial power. He graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Chair for Volume 115 of the Harvard Law

Review. After graduation, he clerked for Judge Paul V. Niemeyer of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He then practiced law at Hunton & Williams LLP and taught as a visiting assistant professor at Villanova University School of Law. He was on the legal team representing the Little Sisters of the Poor in their religious freedom challenge to the Obama Administration’s contraceptives mandate. Walsh received his A.B. from Dartmouth College, and an M.A. in Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Poster announcement of the IRL 2018 winter event.

T H O M A S M O R E . E D U | 3 3 3 T H O M A S M O R E PA R K W A Y, C R E S T V I E W H I L L S , K Y. 4 1 0 1 7 | 8 5 9 . 3 4 1 . 5 8 0 0

T H O M A S M O R E U N I V E R S I T Y M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N TThomas More University is the Catholic Liberal Arts University of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky. Inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,

we challenge students of all faiths to examine the ultimate meaning of life, their place in the world, and their responsibility to others.

R e l i g i o u s f r e e d o m : a n u n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t

PROGRAM FOR THE 2018-2019 ACADEMIC YEAR

American Grace: Religious Tolerance in Our secular ageTHURSDAY | NOVEMBER 15, 2018 | 7 P.M.

steigerwald hall | saints centerThe Institute for Religious Liberty presents

David Campbell, Ph.D., Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and Chair of the Department of Political Science

at University of Notre DameDr. Campbell is the co-author of the book, American Grace: How Religion

Divides and Unites Us with Robert D. Putnam of Harvard University David Campbell, Ph.D.

Rabbi Michael Danziger is a native of Memphis, TN, where his father served as Rabbi at the Reform Congregation, Temple Israel. Upon graduating from The University of Texas with a degree in Organizational Communication and Leadership, he became the assistant director of the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp (sister camp) in Utica, MS for several years. He then returned to Memphis and to Temple Israel where he was the Youth and Family Life Director for five years, before working for several years in property management and on the side as a professional stand-up comic. Realizing his passion for Jewish life and fostering Jewish identity for others, he decided to pursue the rabbinate and entered Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem and then Cincinnati, Ohio.

Jolene Edmunds Rockwood earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah, an MTS from the Harvard Divinity School, is a contributing author to three books on theological issues and has been featured in books and journals on arts-in-education. She recently served on the Editorial Advisory Board for The Religious Educator Journal of the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University and is a frequent lecturer at theological and educational conferences. Rockwood is involved in numerous community organizations in Batesville, Ind. where she resides. Jolene has served in many positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the youth and women’s auxiliary organizations throughout her life.

Father Nicholas Rottman attended St. Mary School in Alexandria, Ky., and then was home-schooled through his high school years. He attended and graduated from the Josephinum, the seminary in Columbus, Ohio and was ordained in the Diocese of Covington in Kentucky. He has been the Pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Burlington, Ky., for six years. Fr. Rottman has been particularly effective in his work with youth in his parish and his philosophy for success in life, and especially the Christian life, is summed up with the famous axiom from St. Augustine: Credo ut intelligam: “I believe that I may understand.”

Moderator: Dr. Catherine Sherron, Department Chair, Department of PhilosophyCommentators

Poster announcement of the IRL 2018 interfaith dialogue.

free and open to the public

T H O M A S M O R E . E D U | 3 3 3 T H O M A S M O R E PA R K W A Y, C R E S T V I E W H I L L S , K Y. 4 1 0 1 7 | 8 5 9 . 3 4 1 . 5 8 0 0

T H O M A S M O R E U N I V E R S I T Y M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N TThomas More University is the Catholic Liberal Arts University of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky. Inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,

we challenge students of all faiths to examine the ultimate meaning of life, their place in the world, and their responsibility to others.

R e l i g i o u s f r e e d o m : a n u n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t

Religious Freedom: Our First, Most Cherished Liberty

THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | 7 p.m.steigerwald hall | saints center

MODERATED BY REVEREND GERALD E. TWADDELL, D.PHIL. CHAPLAIN AND PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY

FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

The Most Reverend William Edward Lori, S.T.D.

Sixteenth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore

As the first head of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty of the United States Conference

of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop Lori has been a courageous voice for religious liberty striving to protect the apostolic governance of the Catholic

Church in his writing, teaching, and advocacy.

Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D.Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a University Fellow, and Associate Professor of Political Science at

Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Baker is the author of three books (The End of Secularism, Political Thought: A Student’s Guide, and The System Has a Soul), has contributed chapters to several others, and has written for a wide variety of print and

digital publications. He is also a Research Fellow of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a Fellow

of the Acton Institute.

PRESENTS

Poster announcement of the IRL 2019 winter event.