The Overton and Lavona Currie Lectures
About this distinguished lecture
The Overton and Lavona Currie Lecture was was founded in 1986 with an endowment from Overton and Lavona Currie. Speakers have included President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, John C. Noonan of the United States Court of Appeals, and many other distinguished scholars and practitioners.
Lectures
2014: Suzan Johnson Cook
Suzan Johnson Cook, Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, speaks about her background advising President Barack Obama on issues related to religious freedom.2013: Frank S. Alexander
Frank S. Alexander, Sam Nunn Professor of Law at Emory Law and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, speaks on "Housing America's Families: Investments, Risks, and Families."2010: The Venerable Matthieu Ricard
The Venerable Matthieu Ricard speaks on the meaning and measure of happiness in the Buddhist tradition, followed by a panel discussion.2009: The Rev. Gene Robinson, Part 1
The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, speaks on "Why Religion Matters in the Quest for Gay Civil Rights."2007: Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
Shari'a, the "passageway into being Muslim," must be freely observed by believers and loses its value when coerced by the state, says Abdullahi An-Na'im, the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law and CSLR senior fellow. Islam loses authority when the government forces it on its citizens. His lecture is titled "The Future of Shari'a: Secularism from an Islamic Perspective."Other Currie Lectures
2016: Dr. Thupten Jinpa, English Translator for His Holiness the 16th Dalai Lama, "Balancing Compassion, Justice, and Religious Beliefs," with a response by Michael J. Perry, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law
2004: Millard Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International
2003: Luke Timothy Johnson, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
2001: Charles Villa-Vicencio, "Church, State, and Restorative Justice: Did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Succeed in South Africa"
2000: Rebecca Chopp, Emory University, Provost, "The Poetics of Testimony"
1988: Martin E. Marty, University of Chicago, "On a Medial Moraine: Religious Dimensions of American Constitutionalism"