Date: Mar 10, 2008

Religion Scholar, Best-selling Author Stephen Prothero to Speak at Hofstra

Visiting Presidential Scholar to discuss "Religious Literacy and Higher Education"

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Best-selling author and religion scholar Stephen Prothero, Ph.D., will discuss "Religious Literacy and Higher Education" in a lecture at Hofstra on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rochelle and Irwin A. Lowenfeld  Conference and Exhibition Hall on the 10th Floor of the Joan and Donald Axinn Library, South Campus.

Dr. Prothero is chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University and author of American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003) and the New York Times bestseller Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – And Doesn’t (HarperOne, 2007). He has appeared on "Oprah" and "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. A regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, he has also written for the New York Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, Slate, Salon, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. Dr. Prothero received his B.A. from Yale College in American Studies and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in the Study of Religion.

His visit to Hofstra is part of the University’s 2008 Visiting Presidential Scholar program, which in addition to a public lecture entails teaching classes and conducting a faculty seminar.

Dr. Prothero’s talk is free and open to the public. A reception will precede the lecture at 5:30 p.m. For additional information, please contact the Department of Religion at 516-463-6023 or religion@hofstra.edu. More information on Dr. Prothero is available on his Web site at http://stephenprothero.com/.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 145 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis.