"Dr. George is the William Wilberforce of our day, courageously and thoughtfully advocating for liberty, for the defense of the vulnerable, and the reformation of manners to the benefit of all." -- IRD President Mark Tooley

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- This week distinguished Catholic philosopher Robert P. George of Princeton University will deliver the Institute on Religion & Democracy's annual Diane Knippers Lecture on defending marriage, life and religious liberty. Dr. George chairs the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

George is a prolific writer on the topics of marriage, life and religious liberty. He is author of Clash of Orthodoxies: Law Religion & Morality in Crisis and co-author of Embryo: A Defense of Human Life and the recently published Conjugal Union: What Marriage Is and Why It Matters.

George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton, where he lectures on constitutional interpretation, civil liberties and philosophy of law.

The lecture is open to the public and will be given Thursday October 16, 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in downtown Washington, D.C. followed by a reception next door at the Henley Park Hotel, both on Massachusetts Ave NW near the Washington Convention Center. Please make reservations with Nathaniel Torrey at ntorrey@theird.org or 202-682-4131.

Video of the event will be made available afterwards on IRD's web site.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"Dr. George's talk could not be timelier. Abroad, ISIS, among many other persecutors globally, is tormenting Christians and others who don't share its rabid politics and theology. At home, there is an ongoing Kulturkampf to push orthodox Christian expression from public life. And the cornerstone of society, natural marriage, is being deconstructed by judicial and cultural elites.

"Dr. George is the William Wilberforce of our day, courageously and thoughtfully advocating for liberty, for the defense of the vulnerable, and the reformation of manners to the benefit of all."

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