Westminster to host religion conference

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College will host the North American Undergraduate Conference in Religion and Philosophy on March 7-9. St. Francis University, Loretto, is a co-organizer, with support from the North American Association for the Study of Religion and the Heinz Foundation.

Dr. Robert Abernethy, executive director and host of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly on PBS, will speak on “Talking about Religion” at 7 p.m. March 7 in the Witherspoon Lakeview Room of the McKelvey Campus Center.

Dr. Justin Barrett, senior researcher at Oxford University’s Centre for Anthropology and Mind, will present “Cognitive Science of Religion: What is it and why does it matter?” at 10:45 a.m. March 8 in the Witherspoon Lakeview Room.

Undergraduate presentations from 16 students, including students from Norway and Boston, are scheduled March 8. Among Westminster College students presenting research projects will be Zoe Anthony, a junior religion and English major, a daughter of Nora Anthony of Campbell and William Anthony of Tarpon Springs, Fla. She is a graduate of Campbell Memorial High School. Her presentation, “Eastern Orthodoxy in Current Study,” explores Eastern Orthodoxy as a misunderstood and underrepresented denomination within the modern academic study of religion. She is scheduled to present during the noon-1:30 p.m. session.

The speakers and student presentations are free and open to the public.