Barry W. Lynn
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Reverend Barry W. Lynn (born 1948 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992.[1] He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and a prominent leader of the American religious left.
He is a strong advocate of separation of church and state and is considered a liberal Christian, both politically and theologically. For instance, he believes that faith in Jesus is not the only way to salvation, which deviates from the historical teaching of Christianity, but would be a permitted view in the United Church of Christ. [2]
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[edit] Biography
Lynn was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in 1948, to conservative Republican church-going parents. Lynn's own involvement in their church led him to march with Martin Luther King, Jr. while still very young. He attended Bethlehem's Liberty High School, graduating in 1966.
He became a minister and had a small church in New Hampshire. Barry W. Lynn received his bachelor's degree at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania (1970) and his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology (1973). By 1973, Lynn felt called to a more activist ministry. After attending law school at night, he graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center.[1]
After law school, he continued to work with the United Church of Christ in their mission to gain amnesty for draft dodgers. Before accepting the post at Americans United, Lynn held a variety of positions related to religious liberty concerns. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union, where he frequently worked on church-state issues. From 1974 to 1980 Lynn served in a variety of positions with the national offices of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church's Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C. He left the ACLU position to respond to a medical crisis in his family before becoming director at Americans United.[1]
An accomplished speaker and lecturer, Lynn has appeared frequently on radio broadcasts and television to debate and discuss First Amendment issues, including The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour, NBC's Today Show, Nightline, Fox Morning News (Washington, D.C.), CNN's Crossfire, The Phil Donahue Show, Meet the Press, CBS Morning News, ABC's Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and Larry King Live. He is also a weekly commentator on church-state issues for UPI Radio, and served for two years as regular co-host of "Pat Buchanan and Company" on the Mutual Broadcasting System.
Lynn's first book, Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom (ISBN 0-307-34654-4), was published in October 2006.
[edit] Trivia
- Barry W. Lynn is unrelated to Barry C. Lynn, the economics writer. However, Barry C. Lynn has appeared on Barry W. Lynn's radio show.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Man of Godlessness by Sean Higgins (Feb. 2006)
- ^ 2006 Radio Interview of Barry Lynn on WOTM (June 2006)
- ^ Wonkette: A Tale of Two Barrys (March 2006)
