LATROBE, PA – Dr. Jerome C. Foss, professor of political science in the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government at Saint Vincent College, is the invited guest speaker for the upcoming Eva Fleischner, PhD, Endowed Lecture at Seton Hill University (SHU) in Greensburg.
The free and public event, “With a Firm Reliance on Divine Providence: Imago Dei and American Self-Government at 250,” is presented by the SHU National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE). Foss’ lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Cecilian Hall, Seton Hill’s administration building.
The core of Foss’ lecture stems from his recent commentary, “How the Declaration Paved the Way for Catholic Freedom in America,” that appeared in the National Catholic Register. In the commentary, Foss explores how the Declaration of Independence marked the beginning of Catholic freedom in the English-speaking parts of North America. Prior to the Declaration, laws in several colonies required Christian oaths of office, thus barring Catholics and Jews from participating in self-government.
The Declaration of Independence relies heavily on the Judeo-Christian belief that humans are made in the image and likeness of God. It reflects an 18th-century Enlightenment view of a creator and natural law, noting that all humans are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” and therefore invited to participate in God’s providential care of creation, including the self-care (and self-governance) of their families, neighborhoods, cities and nations. Foss will lead an examination of the Declaration’s text to demonstrate the reliance of its drafters on those beliefs in making their case for political independence.
“Though the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution improved the conditions for religious practice for both Catholics and Jews, they also presented the new challenge of preserving tradition,” Foss said. “Each has had to make their way in a new land of liberty, which is more difficult than one might think.”
In addition to a discussion of the Declaration of Independence, the talk will also examine George Washington’s letters to Catholics and the Jewish community of Rhode Island. The letters are similar in many ways, Foss noted, as both show Washington’s vision for a form of religious liberty in which faith is cherished and people are respected as fellow citizens even if they do not share the same beliefs.
The lecture is sponsored by the NCCHE through Seton Hill’s Eva Fleischner, PhD, Endowed Lecture Fund. Fleischner was a well-known scholar of women in the Holocaust and Jewish-Christian relations, and a close NCCHE supporter. The lecture series at SHU was established by the Fleischner family to continue her legacy of scholarship and interreligious dialogue.
Foss also serves Saint Vincent College as assistant vice president of academic affairs and Core Curriculum, and is the founding director of SVC Honors. He is the founding director of the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at the College, and in November 2021 earned the Thoburn Excellence in Teaching Award.
