AMES, Iowa -- The executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State will speak at Iowa State University.
Barry Lynn will present "God and Government" at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. His talk is part of the university's National Affairs Series: When American Values are in Conflict. It is free and open to the public.
Since 1992, Lynn has directed the organization, which is dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution's religious liberty provisions. A long-time activist, lawyer in the civil liberties field and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Lynn offers a unique perspective on church-state issues. He is the author of "God and Government: Twenty-Five Years of Fighting for Equality, Secularism and Freedom of Conscience."
As a frequent analyst of First Amendment issues on television and radio, Lynn has appeared on “News Hour,” “The Today Show,” “O'Reilly Factor,” “Nightline,” “Crossfire,” “60 Minutes,” "All Things Considered" and the national nightly news on NBC, ABC and CBS. For a decade, he hosted the syndicated radio show “Culture Shocks,” a daily look at various issues affecting society and the culture. In the 1990s he was the regular co-host of "Pat Buchanan and Company," and later did a weekly syndicated radio program, "Review of the News," with Col. Oliver North.
Lynn earned his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology. He began his professional career working at the national office of the United Church of Christ. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a member of the Washington, D.C., and U.S. Supreme Court bar.
Lynn's many honors include the Freedom of Worship Award from the Roosevelt Institute, the Puffin/Nation Foundation’s Creative Citizenship Award, the American Humanist Association’s Religious Liberty Award and an award from the Hugh H. Hefner Foundation for his work to protect freedom of speech.
Lynn's talk is co-sponsored the Ames United Church of Christ, National Affairs and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by Student Government.
More information on ISU lectures is available online, or by calling 515-294-9935.
