Religious freedom and the security state

In opposing the contraceptive portion of the HHS mandate, the U.S. bishops have made a strong appeal to religious freedom. But might such an appeal prove detrimental to the Catholic Church's endeavor to free itself from state interference? In this lecture, Dr. William Cavanaugh will explore the benefits and potential pitfalls of such an appeal in the broader context of U.S. politics and the security state.

William T. Cavanaugh is a Professor of Theology at DePaul University in Chicago where he specializes in Political Theology, Economic Ethics, and Ecclesiology. His degrees are from the universities of Notre Dame, Cambridge, and Duke. He is the author or editor of several books including The Myth of Religious Violence (Oxford, 2009), The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology (Blackwell, 2003), and Torture and Eucharist (Blackwell, 1998), and he is co-editor of the journal Modern Theology. Prior to joining the DePaul faculty, he taught for fifteen years at the University of St. Thomas.‌