Recent New York Times articles have stated that since John Roberts became Chief Justice in 2005, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of religious organizations in orally argued cases 83% of the time. That is far more than any court in the past seven decades. And that a recent series of decisions have allowed for a larger role of religion in public life, such as school prayer and funding for religious education. The ACLU claims that the Supreme Court has recently adopted an approach that would see the lines between church and state hopelessly blurred, if not eliminated altogether. Further, that the court has increasingly treated the Establishment Clause, the First Amendment’s guarantee of protection against governmental endorsement and imposition of religion, as a historical footnote, threatening the religious neutrality of the state. All this even though declaring the United States a Christian nation and ending federal enforcement of the separation of church and state are minority views among American adults, according to the Pew Research Center.
Our speaker this month, Professor Mike Whitty, will attempt to help us deconstruct all this, and offer some possible positive ways to reduce the rising tide of divisiveness.
Professor Mike Whitty has taught at University Detroit-Mercy, Wayne State and Oakland Universities, University of Michigan- Dearborn, and several universities in California, Minnesota & Canada. He has presented before American Humanist Association Chapters, on topics dealing with the exploitation of easily targeted scapegoat groups. Dr. Whitty has researched and published extensively on American political extremism and the world’s human rights struggles.
Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. You can attend the live presentation, for a chance to also mingle with your fellow Mensans and guests, at our usual location:
Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, MI 48075
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The program begins at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). Admission: $4 for Mensa Members, $5 for non-Mensans.
Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Highway, in Farmington Hills, just northeast of Middlebelt Road.
If you’d prefer to participate on Zoom, you’ll need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0623-Gathering , The event’s Zoom URL and instructions for connecting will only be sent to those who are pre-registered. The Zoom room opens at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). for mingling. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.