Tanner-McMurrin Lecture
History & Philosophy of Religion

The lecture brings notable scholars in history and philosophy of religion to the college.The lecturers are appointed based on the national and international recognition of their scholarly achievements without regard to ethnic, religious, or ideological considerations.The lectures and seminars cover basic issues in religious thought and practice.

The lectureship is funded in perpetuity by an endowment gift from Grace Adams Tanner and the late Dr. Obert Clark Tanner, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Utah.

The lectureship is also named in honor of the late Dr. Sterling McMurrin, who was the E. E. Eriksen distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Utah and a former United States Commissioner of Education. Dr. McMurrin was a trustee of Westminster College and a former colleague of Dr. Tanner. 

February 9, 2012, Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah, Princeton University

 Title: Mistakes about Islam, Mistakes about the West

Many contemporary invocations of the idea of the West oppose it to Islam. In this leture I will argue that the very idea of an organic West distorts the reality of the societies it aims to describe; and that, in any case, the development of Islam was deeply dependent upon traditions drawn from Europe.

• For more information regarding the Tanner-McMurrin Lecture Series or its archives, please call Dr. Michael Popich at (801) 832-2411.