Professor to talk about establishment clause
The Daily Inter Lake
Law professor Rob Natelson will talk about the "establishment clause" of the U.S. Constitution on Thursday night in Kalispell.
Natelson is the third speaker in the 2006 Honors Symposium sponsored by Flathead Valley Community College. The theme for the series is "Jefferson's Wall: America's Debate Over Church and State."
Natelson's talk begins at 7 p.m. in the WestCoast Kalispell Center Hotel ballroom. Because of limited seating and popularity of the series, the public is encouraged to arrive early.
A professor at the University of Montana, Natelson will address the clause in the First Amendment that prohibits the federal government from declaring and financially supporting a national religion. Scholars often debate its relationship with the "free exercise clause" involving religion in the same amendment.
Natelson's scholarly credentials include serving as a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix and constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver. He has taught in three law schools and served as adjunct professor at a number of colleges and universities.
Natelson has twice run as a Republican for governor and has led ballot-issue campaigns to limit taxes in Montana.
He also has helped edit Internet versions of the Roman law collections of the Emperor Justinian, studied at Oxford University in England and has written for academic journals, primarily focusing on constitutional law, real property, remedies and legal history.
Natelson graduated from Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, N.Y.
On April 13, the next speaker in the series will be professor David DeWolf of Gonzaga University. He will talk about "Intelligent Design and Darwinian Orthodoxy."
DeWolf serves as a fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, an organization that advocates for the teaching of intelligent design in schools.
His career achievements include clerking for Justice Stephen Bistline of the Idaho Supreme Court and serving as assistant professor of law at Oklahoma City University. He also practiced law for a private firm in Spokane.
DeWolf is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School.
The remaining lectures in the series include:
April 20: "The Religious Origins of the Separation of Church and State," Marci A. Hamilton, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York.
April 27: "God on Trial: America's Religious Wars," Peter H. Irons, Department of Political Science, University of California-San Diego.
May 4: "Public Opinion on Issues of Church/State," Christopher Muste, Department of Political Science, University of Montana.
For more information, stop by Flathead Valley Community College's Kalispell campus to pick up a brochure or call 756-3822.