Robert Audi, the Charles J. Mach Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, will give a public lecture at Coastal Carolina University on Thursday, March 22 at 5 p.m. in the Wall Auditorium. Audi's lecture, titled "Religion and Politics in a Free Democracy: Toward a Stable Balance," is free and open to the public. A question and answer session will follow the lecture.

"We are very fortunate to have a philosopher of the stature of Robert Audi speaking here," said Claudia McCollough, chair of Coastal's Department of Philosophy and Religion. "The topic of his lecture could not be more timely. With the advent of the new federal administration, we are hearing more and more about the place of religion in politics. His lecture topic promises to help us figure out whether or not there can be a balance between these two historically adversarial camps. It will be an interesting and exciting evening."

Audi's honors and fellowships include the Wilde Lectureship, Oxford University; Reid Lectureship, Wake Forest University; Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences, Santa Clara University; and the William H. Morton Distinguished Senior Fellow in the Humanities, Dartmouth College. Audi has authored numerous books and served as editor-in-chief of The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (1989-1995) and Journal of Philosophical Research (1989 through 1992). He is also past president of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division.

Audi earned a bachelor's degree from Colgate University, and his master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

The program is funded in part by a grant from the South Carolina Humanities Council and is sponsored by Coastal's Department of Philosophy and Religion.

For more information, call McCollough at 349-2440.