Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures: “Secularization and the Rise of Political Extremism”

Mercer will host the 20^th annual Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State Nov. 13-14 on the University’s Atlanta and Macon campuses.

This year’s lecturer is Dr. John Compton, professor of political science and chair of the Political Science Department at Chapman University in Orange, California. The three lectures will be delivered under the theme “The Politics of Secularization.”

Dr. Compton’s first lecture, titled “Democratic Values in a Secular Age,” will be hosted by the School of Law at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 in the Griffin B. Bell and Frank C. Jones Courtroom at the Law School campus in downtown Macon. His second lecture, titled “Secularization and the Rise of Political Extremism,” will be hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the Peyton Anderson Auditorium in the Science and Engineering Building on the Macon campus. An invitation-only dinner will follow at 7 p.m. in the Mercer Innovation Center.

Dr. Compton’s final lecture, titled “Secularization and the Fracturing of the American Left,” will be hosted by McAfee School of Theology on Nov. 14 at 12:15 p.m. in the Trustees Dining Room on the Atlanta campus. A light lunch will be provided.

Online registration is requested for the three lectures, which are free and open to the public.