For
Immediate Release
OKC
Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State
Tuesday,
April 23, 2013
Contact:
James Nimmo, Communications Chair,
OK-AU
Spring Dialogue event examines
mixing
religion and civil government
What:
OKC Chapter of Americans United Spring Dialogue Event
When: Tuesday,
May 7, 2013, 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: Turkish
Raindrop House, 4444 N. Classen
Blvd., Oklahoma City
Who: OKC
Chapter of Americans United for Church & State and the public!
OKLAHOMA
CITY - On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, the Oklahoma City Chapter of
Americans United for Separation of Church & State will host its
annual Spring Dialogue. The free event will begin at 7 p.m. at
the Turkish Raindrop House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., in Oklahoma City,
and will conclude at 9 p.m.
The
theme is; “Advantages and Disadvantages of Religious
Involvement with Civil Government.”
"Our AU chapter looks forward to presenting speakers who can provide an interesting inside look at important issues concerning the First Amendment support of separation of religious views from civil laws,” said OK-AU Communications Chair, James NImmo.
"The United States supports hundreds, if not thousands, of religious denominations. Not a single one of them can be allowed to gain political strength over any other denomination."
The
event will be a four person moderated panel discussion that
will explore the advantages and disadvantages of mixing religion
and civil government.
Panelists
will include the Rev. Dr. William Tabbernee, Executive Director
Oklahoma Conference of Churches; Dr. Bilal Erturk, Assistant
Professor, Department of Finance at Oklahoma State University;
Clayton Flesher, co-founder of Odd Oklahoma; and James Nimmo, OK-AU
Communications Chair.
Dr.
Tabbernee will speak on capital punishment. The death penalty
is carried out by the State but opposed by many religious
groups, including the Oklahoma Conference of Churches.
"The Death Penalty is literally 'a matter of life and death,'" Tabbernee said. "Like all such matters, people have strongly held opinions on the subject. Opinions influenced by their religious beliefs and values."
Tabbernee
has extensive experience in ecumenical and interfaith relations,
including more than 20 years as a member of the World Council of
Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order.
A
volunteer in various capacities for the Raindrop Turkish House, Dr.
Ertuck was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a finance faculty member
at the Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University.
“The topic of my talk will be ‘Secularism: Lessons learned from the Turkish experience,” said Ertuck. “My talk will be generally centered around experiences of the idea of separation of church/mosque and state in Turkey.”
Flesher,
is a contributing writer for OKC.net
and the website Odd Oklahoma. He is the Education Chair for the
Oklahoma Atheists group. He will look at both the pragmatic and
principled reasons for supporting a strong separation.
"I'll talk about what role separation has had in keeping religion robust in the US while keeping religious violence relatively low,” said Flesher.
“I am convinced that the best way to make progress politically is through non-partisan state and national organizations,” said Nimmo.
Chas
Stewart, OK-AU Chapter Secretary will be the event moderator.
A
question and answer period will be held following the panel
discussion. Turkish refreshments will be served.
Hosting
the event, the Turkish Raindrop House promotes education about the
culture and history of Turkish life. The event is open to the public
with free street parking available.
Interested
citizens who support or want to know more about the importance of the
First Amendment and the wall of separation between religious dogma
and civil laws are encouraged to attend.
Americans
United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C., founded in 1947. The organization educates Americans about the
importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious
freedom.
For
more information about the Oklahoma City Chapter of Americans for
Separation of Church & State or the Spring Dialogue event, please
visit www.okau.org
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