Michael J. Perry, the Distinguished Chair in Law at Wake Forest School of Law, will be the featured speaker at the 1998 church/state lecture sponsored by the Center for Church/Studies at the DePaul University College of Law. Perry is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the areas of constitutional law, law and morality, and law and religion. He offers an insightful understanding of how law, philosophy and religion can lead us to a more just society. His lecture, "Liberal Democracy and Religious Morality," will be presented at 3 p.m. April 16 at the University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe St.

Perry, who earned his law degree from Columbia University, has written scores of articles and books on issues of morality, religion, the constitution and the law. His works include "The Constitution, the Courts and Human Rights," "Love and Power: The Role of Religion and Morality in American Politics," and "Morality, Politics, and Law."

He began his teaching career at Ohio State University in 1975 and later joined the faculty of Northwestern University, where he held the prestigious Howard J. Trienens Chair in Law from 1990 to 1997. Perry has been a visiting professor at several other universities including Yale University, Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and the University of Tokyo.

Perry also has been a scholar-in-residence or an endowed lecturer at a variety of universities including the College of William and Mary, Brigham Young University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Arkansas/ Little Rock.

Perry's lecture marks the 15th anniversary of the Center for Church/State Studies lecture series. The lectures are designed to serve the center's mission to foster continuing dialogue between members of the legal, policy-making and religious constituencies of our society. The presenter's remarks are later published in the DePaul Law Review. Past lecturers have included such notables as John H. Mansfield of Harvard Law School, Arlin M. Adams, former judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and John F. Wilson of Princeton University.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information about the program, call Jennifer Donham at the Center for Church States Studies at 312/362-8818.