Suzanna Sherry, the Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, will deliver the annual DePaul University College of Law Church/State Lecture on the role religion plays in public policy. The 1997 annual lecture is entitled "Religion and the Public Square: Making Democracy Safe for Religious Minorities." It is scheduled for April 10 at 3 p.m. in the Michigan Room of the University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe St. The lecture is free and open to the public, reservations are necessary because space is limited.

Sherry will discuss why combining religion and public policies could be dangerous to religious minorities. A portion of Sherry's work has focused on historical debates on the connection between religion and the role of religion in public policy, and whether elements of that debate have had historical and conceptual links to anti-Semitism.

"The center has focused on the influence of religious individuals and groups in the political debate this year," said Craig Mousin, executive director. "Professor Sherry's talk adds a critical dimension to understanding the appropriate role of religion in the public square."

The annual lectures has been sponsored by the Center for Church/State Studies since 1983 to foster continuing dialogue between members of the legal, policy-making and religious constituencies of society.

Sherry joins an impressive list of previous legal and religious lecturers in the series. They have included Stephen Carter, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School; Martin Marty, Fairfax Cone Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago Divinity School; Harold Berman, Robert Woodruff Professor, Emory University School of Law; William Marshall, Galen Roush Professor of Law, Case-Western Reserve University Law School; and Judge John Noonan, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Sherry has taught civil liberties, constitutional law, legal history and theory, criminal procedure, civil rights, employment discrimination, and federal jurisdiction. Sherry has published numerous articles and books including, "Beyond All Reason" to be published this year with Daniel A. Farber, "Enlightening the Religion Clauses, and Legal Storytelling" and "Constitutional Law: The Medium and the Message."

The Center for Church/State Studies has sponsored study in the belief that both church and state benefit from a dispassionate, scholarly analysis of church/state legal issues. Operating under the direction of more than 50 board members, it has received support from foundations and individuals to support academic debate about the liberties and protections of the First Amendment. The center is non-denominational and does not assume positions on constitutional issues or become involved in litigation.

For more information regarding the lecture call the Center for Church/State Studies at 312/362-8818.