Washington University in St. Louis will open a new academic center in January that will focus on the intersection of religion and politics and will be named for a former Missouri senator, John C. Danforth.<\/p>\n
The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics will eventually have five full-time faculty members, offer an undergraduate minor and sponsor conferences and lectures, Mr. Danforth, a former three-term Republican senator, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
An ordained Episcopal priest and author of a book titled \u201cFaith and Politics,\u201d\u009d Mr. Danforth said the center would strive to be ideologically neutral and spark open-minded discussion on religion and politics. \u201cI think all of us benefit from thinking about these issues more deeply, in a more scholarly way that is respectful to all points of view,\u201d\u009d he said.<\/p>\n