Religious Freedom and Human Flourishing

IFWE SELECTS SMITH TO JOIN TEMPLETON PROJECT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (IFWE) is pleased to announce that Wesley Smith has been selected to join the “Moral Foundations of Freedom and Human Flourishing” book project, an IFWE initiative that is funded in part by the John Templeton Foundation. As one of thirteen contributing scholars, Smith will provide a chapter to a book that will explore the biblical roots and history of religious freedom and how Christians can become more engaged in preserving it, not just for Christians but for people of all faiths. The book will also explore the relationship between religious freedom, economic freedom, and political freedom. It is scheduled for release in the fall of 2019 by Abilene Christian University Press.

Lawyer and award-winning author, Wesley Smith, is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. He is also a consultant to the Patients Rights Council. In May 2004, because of his work in bioethics, Smith was named one of the nation’s premier expert thinkers in bioengineering by the National Journal. In 2008, the Human Life Foundation named him a Great Defender of Life for his work against assisted suicide and euthanasia. His Human Exceptionalism blog, hosted by National Review Online, is one of the premier blogs dealing with human life and dignity. Wesley is the author or coauthor of fourteen books and hundreds of articles and opinion columns (nationally and internationally) on issues such as the importance of being human (human exceptionalism), assisted suicide, bioethics, eugenics, transhumanism, legal ethics, medical ethics, and public affairs. Smith has appeared on television and radio talk/interview programs such as ABC Nightline, Good Morning America, Larry King Live. He is also a lecturer, public speaker, and expert witness to government leaders in bioethics in the U.S., overseas, and at the United Nations.

Smith’s contribution to the IFWE book on religious freedom will target the next generation through Christian colleges and universities, as well as current thought leaders and policy makers.

IFWE executive director Hugh Whelchel indicated that more educational material and marketing will be needed to help the IFWE project reach a larger audience of Christians in schools, churches, and in the marketplace. “Please keep this religious freedom project in prayer and consider joining us in this effort financially. Our prayer is that Christians would grasp the biblical roots of religious freedom and see how religious freedom is a prerequisite for human flourishing; where it doesn’t exist or is threatened, economic and political progress and freedoms have difficulty taking root.”

Please prayerfully consider making an end-of-year contribution toward the work of IFWE and this religious freedom project today.