Richard E. Wentz, Professor Emeritus and a founder of the Department of Religious Studies at ASU, will present the next lecture in the Project Civil Discourse Speaker/Discussion Series.
     Wentz’s presentation, “Religion, Politics, and American Public Life,” will be from 5:30-7 p.m. on Friday, June 20, at the Ellis-Shackelford House, 1242 N. Central Ave., in Phoenix.
     Sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council, Project Civil Discourse is a statewide effort to create respectful dialogue and discourse on public issues in 2008. The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is a partner in the project. The speaker series is designed to provide issue-related insights and engage participants in thoughtful discussion, featuring presentations addressing contemporary issues, which are followed by facilitated conversations incorporating a simple civil discourse technique.
     According to the council’s Web site, at the heart of much contemporary cultural misunderstanding is the American tendency to espouse a rhetoric that defines religiousness as a private affair, while the historical and sociological evidence windows the public dimensions of religious life. American history demonstrates the continuing vitality of this unusual dialectic, which will play a significant role as traditions like Islam, with an avowed public platform, gain prominence in the American setting.
     The lecture is free, but seating is limited, so e-mail enunn@azhumanities.org or call (602) 257-0335, ext. 23, to RSVP.