Objectives
The primary objective of the Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life is to examine the relationship between religion, civic activity, and liberal democracy. The xenter considers, in the context of free democratic systems, the connection between religion and the citizen's identity. 

However, the center also scrutinizes the relationship between religion and politics in other systems of government, such as a theocracy or monarchy.

Thus, the Center for the Study of Religion and Public Life is engaged in a continuing assessment of the following question: Does religious identity determine political identity, or does political identity determine religious identity?

The center is a place where scholars can gather to give individual lectures or to present papers as part of a symposium. On the level of data collection and dissemination, the center is a repository of information, whether in the form of a library, databases, and general reference, for professors, students, and others examining the topic of religion and public life. In addition, the center functions as a neutral milieu for people of opposing viewpoints to meet and consider conflict and resolution.

October 29, Saint Anselm Faculty Research Forum featuring Dr. Ann Norton
Dr. Ann Norton, of the English department, will present her work, "Paradoxical Feminism: The Novels of Rebecca West." The Saint Anselm Faculty Research Forum highlights the publications of the college's professors.

December 5, Author, Dr. Nazif Shahrani, on Afghanistan
Dr. Nazif Shahrani, Professor of Anthropology Central Asian Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University, will speak on Afghanistan and participate in a discussion with the Saint Anselm community on Khaled Hosseini's book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns."  Dr. Shahrani, a native of Afghanistan, is the author of "The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan."