Noted theologian Donald Shriver will discuss the intersection of church and society during the H. Shelton Smith Lecture at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 8 in Whitley Auditorium on the Elon campus. Sponsored by the Religious and Spiritual Life Office and the Department of Religious Studies, Shriver’s lecture is free and open to the public.
The former president of Union Theological Seminary in New York and author of twelve books, including “An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics,” Shriver’s academic work has focused on the field of Christian social ethics. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Shriver was pastor of a congregation in Gastonia, N.C., from 1956-1959. His first book, “Spindles and Spires: Religion and Social Change in Gastonia,” deals with the relationship between economic and religious life in that textile community.
He has held administrative and teaching positions at North Carolina State University and Emory University, and was elected president of Union Theological Seminary in 1975. He held that position until 1991, when he returned to teaching full-time at Union. Shriver is a past president of the Society of Christian Ethics and served on the Presbyterian Church’s Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy from 1992-1999.
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