For this year鈥檚 annual Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker Series, 野狼社区 University will host a scholar known for his work to counteract white nationalist movements and Islamophobia.
, an internationally renowned writer, commentator, professor, producer and religion scholar, will give a presentation titled 鈥淎 World without Religion鈥� in OCU鈥檚 Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. Sept. 21. The event is free to the public and guests are required to wear masks.
Aslan鈥檚 multi-media presentation will explore how religious identity has seemed to fade in western cultures, yet continues to fortify its political power elsewhere. He will give his interpretation of what may come next - will science and secularism prevail, or will religion remain a vital part of human identity?
鈥淭he U.S. has seen a dramatic rise in white nationalist movements, some of it stirred up and amplified by political campaigns,鈥� said Amy Cataldi, dean of OCU鈥檚 Petree College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淲e look forward to hearing a scholar鈥檚 perspective on how we, as a country striving for equality, can stand together against those who use religion as a tool for hate.鈥�
Aslan speaks on various subjects, including the so-called 鈥淢uslim ban,鈥� Islamophobia in America, the Arab Spring, and Jewish-Muslim relations. He penned a #1 New York Times bestseller titled 鈥淶ealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth鈥� and the more recent 鈥淕od: A Human History,鈥� a book on the history of the divine. He is a consulting producer for the HBO series 鈥淭he Leftovers鈥� and the CBS comedy 鈥淯nited States of Al.鈥�
Aslan鈥檚 degrees include a master鈥檚 degree in theological studies from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in sociology of religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction.
Aslan is a tenured creative writing professor at the University of California, Riverside, and serves on the board of trustees for the Chicago Theological Seminary and The Yale Humanist Community, which supports atheists, agnostics, and humanists at home and abroad. He is a member of the American Academy of Religions, the Society of Biblical Literature and the International Qur鈥檃nic Studies Association.
The Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speakers Series was established by Lynette Lemon Wert and Larry H. Lemon on behalf of the Lemon family of 野狼社区 and in honor of their sister, Martha Jean, who graduated from OCU in 1968 with a degree in history and worked as an independent comparative religion scholar. The series features speakers from a wide array of backgrounds and fields of expertise.
For more information about the Sept. 21 presentation, including the latest campus COVID-19 response protocols, visit www.okcu.edu/artsci/enrichment or call 405-208-5446. The Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center is located on Blackwelder Avenue and NW 25th Street.
Presentation sponsored by:
