Dr. Tom Mates

"Clash of Christianities"

 

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Saturday, April 19, 2008

A presentation followed by Q+A 
with Dr. Tom Mates of UCSB.

Tom Mates maintains a long-standing interest in religion, after
recognizing his own lack of faith as a teenager in New York state. 
This followed baptism and confirmation into the Episcopal Church. 
Concerned about the increasing influence of the Religious Right in
American politics, he began in the 1990s to read scripture and
philosophy, also interviewing clergy about their beliefs.

Around 2000, he began writing about religion and has been published in
"The Humanist" and "Free Inquiry" magazines, and in the "Santa Barbara
Independent".  Tom is currently outlining a book, taking the measure of
American religions through the behavior of their believers.  He is
especially interested in the influence of scriptures in this mostly
Protestant nation, in comparison to historical factors like America's
openness, bounty and frontiers.

Tom Mates is a materials scientist and polymer chemist, receiving his
Bachelor's degree from Alfred University in New York, Master's degree
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ph.D from Cornell
University in New York.  He worked for IBM Development for several
years, then joined the UC Santa Barbara technical staff in December
1997.  Tom now manages two materials analysis laboratories at UCSB.

Socializing at 2:30 pm, the presentation at 3:00PM in thePatio Room at Vista del Monte, 3775 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara. -