MEDIA RELEASES

Dominican University will present historian David O’Brien in a lecture entitled “Catholics and Politics: Does Religion Really Matter” on Monday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Martin Recital Hall at Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. Dr. O’Brien, a leading scholar in American Catholic history and Catholic social and political thought, will discuss how Catholic voters will be influenced by their faith in the upcoming national election and beyond. The lecture will address how Catholic Social Teaching has an impact on the political involvement of Catholics.

Dr. O’Brien recently retired from the faculty at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA, after teaching for 40 years. He has been active in social causes since the Vietnam War protests. His commentaries on politics, war and church affairs have appeared in many publications. At Holy Cross, he developed a Peace and Conflict Studies concentration, which allowed students to take courses on peace, conflict, justice and human dignity.

Dr. O’Brien holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in American history from the University of Rochester. He has written several books on American Catholic history including: The Renewal of American Catholicism (1972); Renewing the Earth: Catholic Documents on Peace, Justice and Liberation (1977); and Public Catholicism (1988).

This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Kathy Heskin, director of the pastoral ministry program at Dominican University, at (708) 524-6970 or kheskin@dom.edu.

Founded in 1901, Dominican University is a comprehensive, coeducational Catholic institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Dominican offers 50 undergraduate academic programs in the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences and 15 graduate programs through the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, the Brennan School of Business, the School of Education, the Graduate School of Social Work, and the School of Leadership and Continuing Studies. In the 2009 issue of America’s Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report again ranked Dominican University in the top tier of Midwest master’s level universities.