STEUBENVILLE, OH—Dr. Robert P. George, Princeton University professor of jurisprudence, will speak on religious freedom at Franciscan University of Steubenville on Friday, April 4. George’s lecture, “The Nature and Basis of Religious Freedom,” will take place at 2:00 p.m. in the Tony and Nina Gentile Gallery, J.C. Williams Center.

George’s talk will be the keynote address of the Truth, Conscience, and Religious Freedom Conference, April 4-5, the kickoff event of Franciscan University’s Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life.

In his talk, George will defend religious freedom as a robust right that belongs to communities of faith and their institutions as well as to individuals.

This right must not be reduced to the mere “freedom of worship,” he says, rather, it must include “the right to express and act on one’s religiously inspired convictions concerning justice and the common good in carrying out the duties of citizenship.”

George will draw on Dignitatis Humanae, Pope Paul VI’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, and other papal documents. He will also elaborate on the legitimate limits of the right to religious freedom.

George has been hailed by The New York Times as “this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker.” He formerly served as a presidential appointee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights and as a judicial fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States.

His talk is also part of the spring 2014 Distinguished Speakers Series at Franciscan University. Through the Distinguished Speakers Series, Franciscan University of Steubenville hosts leaders who integrate their faith and public life and thereby inspire the next generation to be a transforming presence in the Church and society.

There is no cost to hear Dr. George speak. To attend the entire Veritas conference, contact Carrie Libetti, at 740-284-5262 or [email protected].