McCoy Memorial Lecture on Religion, Ethics, and Public Life

About Charles S. McCoy

Dr. McCoy (1923-2002) served for 33 years as the Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theological Ethics at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley before he retired in 1992. In addition to a long and distinguished career as an internationally recognized theologian and ethicist, he was instrumental in the creation of the Graduate Theological Union and its Center for Ethics and Social Policy. A graduate of Yale University and an ordained United Methodist pastor, McCoy authored many books and articles and served as a scholar, activist, and teacher.

Dr. McCoy believed that there not only needed to be a constant dialogue between theology and ethics, but that the dialogue had to be equally informed by the insights of public policy. His goal was to create a theology and ethics that spoke to the issues of the day.

April 26, 2011 The Modern-Day Abolitionist Movement: What Smart Activists are doing to Re-Abolish Slavery David Batstone (Ph.D. '89) President of Not For Sale Campaign against slavery; professor, University of San Francisco; founder of Right Reality, a social venture firm; author of Not For Sale Listen to the lecture

April 27, 2010 The Death of "Death Panels": Reforming End-of-Life Decision Making Dr. Margaret R. McLean Associate Director and Director of Bioethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University Director of O'Connor Hospital's Applied Ethics Center Listen to the lecture

May 4, 2009 Religion, Ethics, and Media Michael Krasny Host of KQED-FM Forum Professor of English at San Francisco State University Dr. James A. Donahue President and Professor of Ethics at the Graduate Theological Union Listen to the presentation Listen to the Q&A

April 29, 2008 Living Into Leadership Bowen H. “Buzz” McCoy Author of Living Into Leadership

April 16, 2007 Religion and Power Robert Bellah Elliott Professor of Sociology Emeritus University of California, Berkeley

April 10, 2006 Punishment and Redemption: The Death Penalty in America Dr. Judith Kay Author of Murdering Myths: The Story Behind the Death Penalty Elisabeth Semel Clinical professor of law and director of the Death Penalty Clinic at the Boalt School of Law University of California, Berkeley

April 12, 2005 Islam and Dialogue with Other Religions Imam Warith Deen Mohammed Leader of Nation of Islam/American Society of Muslims

April 2004 Leadership and Ethics in an Age of Globalization Philip A. Marineau President and Chief Executive Officer for Levi Strauss & Co.