Human Resources: QUESTIONING THE "WALL OF SEPERATION"

Princeton, NJ – January 11, 2007 – In commemoration of the 60th anniversary
of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Everson v. Board of
Education, Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) will host a provocative
symposium on Friday, February 9, to examine the current and future state of
relationships between government and religion. The landmark 5-4 Everson
decision ruled that the First Amendment prohibition of laws respecting an
establishment of religion applies to the states, defined the clause as
mandating a wall of separation between church and state, and ruled that
publicly funded religious school bus transportation did not violate this
definition.

Six decades later, Everson's aftermath continues to permeate state supreme
courthouses across the nation, with cases of unclear division of religious
teaching and government support or invasion. The mythical "wall of
separation" between church and state touches controversial issues such as
school prayer, vouchers for private schools, nativity scenes on public
property, the "under God" clause of the pledge of allegiance, Bible reading in
public schools, and the posting of the 10 commandments in public places.

Rarely attempted by a seminary, this conference represents PTS's unique and
progressive mission to encourage and support independent, often speculative
thinking that advances religious understanding. As a leading center for
theological and intellectual inquiry, PTS hosts this discussion to spotlight the
divided and opposing views that exist among today's political, legal, and
religious opinion leaders.

This unparalleled symposium will begin with a presentation summarizing the
Everson case and the issues it catalyzed. To follow, a panel of prominent
legal, political, ethical, and theological leaders will openly discuss the current
challenges faced by the judiciary system echoing this significant court
decision. They will also address new questions that have emerged with the
establishment of the Bush Administration's Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives, issues that have recently challenged the "Blaine" Amendment, and
predictions on the future of church and state law.

The symposium presents a unique opportunity for the speakers, attendees,
and members of the media to explore opposing perspectives and discuss how
politics, law, religious faith, and religious freedom can coexist in today's
society.

"We believe faith and citizenship must engage each other mutually and
thoughtfully," says Hui Chen, PTS's Dean of Continuing Education, an
ordained Presbyterian minister and an attorney. "Our hope for this symposium
is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for that engagement."

THE PANEL
T. Jeremy Gunn: Director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Program on
Freedom of Religion and Belief, founded in 2005 to help promote the American
constitutional value of freedom of religion. He publishes and teaches widely
on constitutional and religion issues, and oversees ACLU's litigation and
advocacy efforts on these issues.

Marci A. Hamilton: Paul R. Verkuil Professor of Public Law at the Benjamin N.
Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. A former clerk to Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor, she is involved in cutting-edge First Amendment litigation. Her
book, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge University
Press 2005), is a widely acclaimed study of the First Amendment's Free
Exercise Clause.

Lawrence M. Stratton: Ph.D. candidate in Christian ethics at PTS A graduate
and former adjunct professor of Georgetown University Law Center, he
currently examines the phenomenon of the government funding of religion
from the standpoint of both law and ethics.

Carl H. Esbeck: Isabelle Wade and Paul C. Lyda Professor of Law at the
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. As senior counsel to the
deputy attorney general at
the U.S. Department of Justice, he helped initiate the Bush Administration's
Faith-Based and Community Initiative program.

K. Hollyn Hollman: General Counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public
Affairs, a 70-year-old religious liberty education and advocacy group that
seeks to bring a uniquely Baptist witness to the principle that religion must be
freely exercised, and neither advanced nor inhibited by government.

Joseph P. Viteritti: Blanche D. Blank Professor of Public Policy at Hunter
College, CUNY, and author of Can Religion and Democracy Coexist? American
Discord from the Public School to the Public Square (Princeton University
Press, 2007), as well as other publications on religion, law, and education. He
served as advisor to the city school superintendents in New York, Boston,
and San Francisco, and gave expert testimony in the Zelman v. Simmons-
Harris school voucher case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002.

Nancy J. Duff: Stephen Colwell Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at
Princeton Theological Seminary. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian
Church (USA), she teaches on the ethics of the Ten Commandments, as well
as on the theology and ethics of German anti-Hitler theologian Dietrich
Bonhoeffer and liberation theorist James Cone.

DETAILS
The symposium will take place on the PTS campus in Princeton, just miles
from the town of Ewing where the historic case emerged sixty years ago.

Date: Friday, February 9, 2007
Time: 9AM – 4PM
Location: Princeton Theological Seminary – Center of Continuing Education.
20 Library Place, Princeton.
Registration: Open to the public, with priorities given to professionals in the
fields of ministry, law, and education.
Fee: Program - $120 (lunch not included)
Student rate - $60 (for university and law school students with valid ID.
Program only, lunch not included.)
Lunch - $10
Phone: 800.622.6767, ext. 7990, or 609.497.7990
Website: www.ptsem.edu/ce

CONTACT
For more information on Princeton Theological Seminary and the Church and
State: 60 Years after Everson v. Board of Education conference contact,
Carli Smith at Sharp Communications at (212) 829-0002 x110 /
cs[at]sharpthink.com or Elizabeth Hewitt at (212) 829-0002 x107 /
eh[at]sharpthink.com.