Integrating Faith with
Government and Law
Stoneman Classroom
This panel will discuss the question of whether a reasonable, tolerant, and loving faith is additive to the public sphere, both on the part of politicians and citizens. Further, it will explore the delicate balance of First Amendment religious freedom, the so-called “separation of church and state,” and the ways in which individuals can integrate faith into the their political lives.
Moderator
Charles Clark D’11
Editor-in-Chief, The Dartmouth Apologia
Charles Clark is a member of the class of 2011 at Dartmouth College. He studies Classical Archaeology and English. He is also the current editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth Apologia.
Panelists
Wilfred M. McClay, Ph.D.
Professor of History, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Wilfred M. McClay, Ph.D. is a Professor of History and the SunTrust Bank Chair of Excellence in Humanities at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was appointed a Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum in 2006. Dr. McClay has also taught at Georgetown University, Tulane University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Dallas.
Dr. McClay is currently a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, and a member of the Society of Scholars at the James Madison Program of Princeton University. In 2002, he was appointed to the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In 1995, Dr. McClay’s book The Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America won the Merle Curtis Award of the Organization of American Historians for the best book in American intellectual history published in the years 1993 and 1994. He also wrote The Student’s Guide to U.S. History, and Religion Returns to the Public Square: Faith and Policy in America. Dr. McClay received his B.A. in 1974 from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and his Ph.D. in 1987 from Johns Hopkins University.
Glenn E. Tinder, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of Massachusetts
Glenn E. Tinder, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He received his bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, his MA from Claremont Graduate School, and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Tinder is the author of several books, including Community: Reflections on a Tragic Ideal, Against Fate: An Essay on Personal Dignity, The Political Meaning of Christianity, and most recently, Liberty: Rethinking an Imperiled Ideal. His article, Can We Be Good Without God? published in the Atlantic Monthly (December 1989) is one of the most requested reprints in the history of the journal. In the article, Dr. Tinder challenges conventional wisdom by contending that Christianity requires no political program but rather a prophetic stance judging all programs and institutions against the ideal of love of each individual. In doing so, he helps to make clear what a Christian meaning in politics might be and charts a course between the extremes of passive cynicism and revolutionary idealism.
Stephen F. Smith, J.D. D’88
Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
Trustee of Dartmouth College
Stephen F. Smith, J.D. earned his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. As a student at the law school, he served as articles editor for the Virginia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif and the Raven Society. Upon graduation, he clerked for Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Before returning to the law school, Mr. Smith served in the Supreme Court and appellate practice group of Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C. He also served as associate majority counsel to a 1996 House of Representatives select subcommittee investigating U.S. involvement in Iranian arms transfers to Bosnia and as an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law. He is actively involved in a number of community service organizations and civic projects.
Mr. Smith's area of research is criminal law and criminal procedure. He teaches courses on criminal law, criminal adjudication and federal criminal law.
While at Dartmouth, Mr. Smith played tight end on the Freshman Football team and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. Mr. Smith was elected to a variety of posts in his fraternity, including Vice President.
