Dr. Paul Marshall To Speak On Charlie Hebdo, Free Speech, and Freedom of Religion

The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute welcomes Paul Marshall to The King’s College for a lecture on the implications of anti-blasphemy laws worldwide. Marshall, the widely-published Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, will speak at noon on February 20. His speech will show what outbursts, such as the terrorist murders of cartoonists and editors at the Charlie Hebdosatire magazine in Paris mean for the future of religious freedom, press freedom, and freedom of speech.

“These murders in Paris shocked the world and ignited a debate around press freedom versus societal tolerance,” said Paul Glader, associate professor and director of the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College. “With his deep background knowledge on religion (including Islam), history and media, Dr. Marshall will give us facts and perspective related to this recent tragedy.”

In addition to his position at Hudson, Marshall is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Religion at Baylor University; Senior Fellow at the Leimena Institute, Jakarta; and Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Indonesia. He has written many books, including Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide (Oxford University Press, 2011, with Nina Shea). His writing has been translated into more than a dozen languages and appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and The Dallas Morning News.

At King’s, Marshall will focus on explaining the complex nature of blasphemy cases, the dangers they represent, and the people whom they endanger. He will explain the different types of anti-blasphemy cases, the four groups of victims, and the challenges with navigating cases. Most importantly, he will explain the connection between religious and political freedom.

Marshall’s appearance at King’s is part of an ongoing lecture series sponsored by the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute. Last year, the Institute hosted journalists such as Nigerian newsman Emeka Izeze and The Economist‘s Matthew Bishop. Next month, the Institute will welcome Emmy-winning Washington Post producer Alice Rhee.

“We welcome students, journalists, academics and any citizens interested in these important issues of religious and press freedoms to attend this lecture,” Glader said. “And we welcome journalism students to apply for our NYC Semester in Journalism program for Fall 2015.”

Admission to Marshall’s talk is free, but RSVP is required via Eventbrite. The event will take place on February 20 at noon in the City Room at The King’s College’s campus, located at 56 Broadway in lower Manhattan.

***

The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute exists to provide Christ-centered multimedia journalism training to students at King’s, in New York City, and nationwide. Students are welcome to apply for the 2015-2016 class of the NYC Semester in Journalism, which includes a 6-credit internship at a media outlet in New York City along with a select mix of courses on journalism and faith integration.