Scholar to speak at OU on Catholicism in world affairs

Allen Hertzke, Ph.D., an internationally recognized scholar on religion and politics, will deliver a public lecture on the University of Oklahoma campus titled “The Catholic Church on the Global Stage: Promise and Peril.”

Hertzke’s address will be the 20th lecture in the Agnes and Herbert True Memorial Lectureship.  He will speak at 7 p.m. April 11 in the Sam Noble Museum auditorium, 2401 Chautauqua, Norman. The event will include time for questions.

Allen Hertzke is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Oklahoma. And author or editor of 10 books, he recently co-edited a two-volume set for Cambridge University Press, “Christianity and Freedom: Historical & Contemporary Perspectives.”

Drawing on over two decades of immersion in global scholarly networks, including a decade of service on the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, Hertzke will address the unique role of the Catholic church in world affairs. In particular, he will explore the distinctive opportunities and perils that the Catholic Church faces in different regions of the world today.

Endowed by a gift to the University of Oklahoma Foundation in the name of Agnes and Herbert True, the annual True Memorial Lectureship brings distinguished speakers to campus from the Catholic intellectual tradition to address topics of university and community-wide interest.

“For the 20th True Memorial Lecture this year, we could not have a better speaker to address Catholicism on the global stage than OU's nationally and internationally distinguished scholar, Allen Hertzke," said Dr. Charles Kenney, ConocoPhillips chairman in Latin American Studies and chair of the True Memorial Lectureship committee.  

The lecture by Hertzke is hosted by Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in Norman and the OU Catholic Student Association. It is free and open to the public. For more information or accommodations, e-mail Charles Kenney at [email protected].