Anti-Torture Conference

On March 25 and 26, 2011, the Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina will be hosting a conference on torture. The conference, titled ‘Toward a Moral Consensus on Torture,” is sponsored by the Duke Human Rights Center,  the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and the North Carolina Council of Churches. Amy Laura Hall, associate professor of Christian ethics, is coordinating the conference and will be moderating sessions.

This two-day event aims to equip participants to understand the arguments against torture and to prepare them for anti-torture advocacy within their own communities, trusting that the greatest protection against the U.S. government’s use of torture is a shared understanding that torture is always wrong.

Speakers and panelists representing diverse faith traditions include:

• Abdullah Antepli, Duke University Muslim chaplain and adjunct faculty member of Islamic Studies
• Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
• David Gushee, Mercer University professor and chair of the Board of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
• Linda Gustitus, president of NRCAT
• Scott Horton, contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine
• George Hunsinger, founder of NRCAT
• Robin Kirk, executive director of the Duke Human Rights Center
• Ingrid Mattson, director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary
• David LaMotte, Program Associate for Peace at the North Carolina Council of Churches
• Gen. (ret.) Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist active in anti-torture efforts

Events on March 25 will be at First Presbyterian Church, 305 E. Main St., Durham, NC 27701, beginning at 3:30 PM. For a map, please click  here. Events on March 26 will be at the Duke Divinity School, 502 Oregon Street, Durham, NC 27705.  For a map, please click here.

Registration costs will include parking fees. Attendance fees are $35, or $10 for students.To register and for more details, please visit the TAMCAT web site. The deadline for registration is March 18.

David LaMotte
Program Associate for Peace