Jamie Smith speaks at VCU about the place of faith and religious communities in the public square.
In collaboration with City Church and CommonGoodRVA, VCU's Department of Philosophy will be sponsoring and hosting another piece of our Imagine Weekend with James K. A. Smith. On Saturday evening February 28th at 7:00 PM, Dr. Smith will give the inaugural lecture in VCU's new Philosophy and Public Affairs series.
In an age that has been declared post-Christian and fully secularized, religion is nevertheless a driving force in debates about public policy at home and abroad. What role should Christians and other faith communities play in the public square? Is the current state of affairs reason to build the separation between church and state higher, or begin to tear it down? Might we understand secularism (and other -isms) as alternative religions that also make claims for our allegiance and consideration as we frame the ends of public policy as well as its means? These and other issues will be on the table as Dr. Smith suggests it is time to "re-imagine" what we think of as the secular.