Global Issues Colloquium examines religious freedom

McDaniel College’s annual Global Issues Colloquium examines religious freedom with a discussion led by Brad Stoddard, assistant professor of Religious Studies at McDaniel. Titled “Free Exercise: The Tyranny of Religious Freedom in Constitutional Democracies,” the event is on April 3 at 7 p.m. in Decker Center Forum. After a brief presentation, all attendees are invited to participate in a conversation.

“Most people agree in the general principle of religious freedom, and constitutional democracies routinely legislate religious freedom in their federal constitutions,” said Stoddard, whose research interests include religion and law. “This presentation exposes and explores the unresolved clichés and contradictions that accompany the idea of religious freedom.”

He received a bachelor’s degree with highest honors from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s degree from Yale Divinity School. He earned a Ph.D. from Florida State University, where he completed his dissertation titled “The New Prison Reformers: Florida’s Faith-Based Prisons and the Politics of Religious Pluralism.”

Global Initiatives expands McDaniel College's commitment to international education through academic programming, globally-themed extracurricular activities, and innovative approaches to travel learning, such as study abroad, as well as global experiential and civic engagement opportunities. McDaniel’s Global Fellows program is a structured three-year program offered in conjunction with Global Initiatives that is designed to enhance the understanding of global issues, develop heightened intercultural competency and cultivate the skills and attitudes important to leading successful lives in a global context. Students earn a Global Fellow designation on their transcript upon completion of the program.