Scholar explores use of identification in Christian nation Oct. 20 at Elizabethtown College

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Richard Newton

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (10/11/2014)(readMedia)-- How many forms of I.D. do you carry with you, keep in your bill drawer at home or store in your safe deposit box at the bank? If you drink, drive, vote or have a bank account, you are probably asked to show identification. How does that impact you, society and spirituality?

Richard Newton, assistant professor of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College, discusses the politics of I.D. cards and their connection to scripture at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the College's Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall.

"Getting Carded: Documenting Identity in a Christian Nation" looks at freedom papers, immigrant I.D.s and end-time prophecies and how one's status in America must be shown in writing. This free image-rich, interactive presentation on the power of written identification encourages the use of cell phones and web-enabled devices.

Newton joined Elizabethtown College this fall after teaching in the Claremont Colleges Consortium and at CalPolyPomona University. He double majored in religion and anthropology at Texas Christian University, earned a master of divinity degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University and his doctoral degree in critical comparative scriptures from Claremont Graduate University.

Contact: Christina Bucher at bucherca@etown.edu or 717-361-1182

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Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: http://www.etown.edu/about/

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