Lectures in Catholic Experience Presents - Dr. Gary J. Adler Jr.

In-Person & Online

Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM  - 9:00 PM EST 

{ "name":"Lectures in Catholic Experience Presents - Dr. Gary J. Adler Jr. ", "description": "https:\/\/ticketfi.com\/event\/6533\/lectures-in-catholic-experience-presents-dr-gary-j-adler-jr\n\nCatholic in Governing, not Catholicism in Government: How Local Government Officials’ Manage Interaction between Religion and State\nAbout the Lecture\nCatholics inhabit the highest reaches of federal government in the United States: the presidency, the last two congressional speakerships, and six of nine Supreme Court justices. In a polarized country, much has been said about the conflicting ways these prominent Catholics connect their religiosity to public service. In this talk, I turn our attention to the local level, away from the terrain of polarized cultural issues to examine how Catholicism influences everyday governance. I show how Catholic officials, who comprise nearly 30% of all locally elected officials, draw on their spirituality and support religious equality in a pluralist society.\n \nAbout the Speaker\nGary Adler (Ph.D. University of Arizona; M.A. Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley) examines culture at the intersection of religion and politics. He co-directs the American Local Leaders Study about ways that local government officials engage with religion and navigate religion-state law on the ground. He is the author of Empathy Beyond U.S. Borders (Cambridge), American Parishes: Remaking Local Catholicism (Fordham), and Secularism, Catholicism, and the Future of Public Life (Oxford). His scholarship has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship Program, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the American Sociological Association.\n\n          \n\nThis lecture is sponsored by the Institute for Religion, Culture and Societal Futures and the Centre for Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College.\n", "startDate":"2026-01-15", "endDate":"2026-01-15", "startTime":"19:30", "endTime":"21:00", "location":"St. Jerome's University Notre Dame Chapel SJ1 Classrooms and Library Building - 290 Westmount Rd N Waterloo ON N2L 3G5 Canada", "label":"Add to Calendar", "options":[ "Apple", "Google", "iCal", "Microsoft365", "Outlook.com", "Yahoo" ], "timeZone":"US/Eastern", "trigger":"click", "inline":true, "listStyle":"modal", "iCalFileName":"invite.ics" }