About 20 years ago, Alan Wolfe recalls, he wrote an op-ed for The New York Times Magazine about what he saw as an increased general level of tolerance in the U.S., with one notable exception.
“I said that the US had become more tolerant, but not toward gays,” recalls Wolfe, a professor of political science and director of Boston College’s Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. “I thought that the unease and opposition on the part of many people toward gays and same-sex marriage was not going to change significantly.
“Boy, was I wrong,” he laughs.
Alan Wolfe, director of BC's Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
The growing acceptance, and eventual legalization, of gay marriage is one of a number of world-shaping events and trends that have occurred during Wolfe’s 17-year tenure as the inaugural Boisi Center director, which will conclude this summer.
Alan Wolfe’s tenure as director of Boston College’s Boisi Center will be celebrated with a daylong conference 'Religion and American Public Life: The Calling of a Public Intellectual' on April 14 in Gasson 100. Click here for schedule and registration information.
The Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, 9/11, the 2008 financial disaster – these, along with gay marriage and many other thought-provoking issues and trends have been the subject of events, programs, courses, seminars, publications and other forms of outreach by the center. Its activities have drawn on the talents and perspectives of many eminent figures in politics, government, religion, journalism, the arts and other fields – not least Wolfe himself.
So, whatever the outcome of his other predictions, Wolfe has been dead right on one thing: When he arrived at BC, he expressed confidence that the center would be a valuable resource for discussion and research on the relationship between religion and public policy. Now, as he prepares to step down, Wolfe feels the center has fulfilled its promise.
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” says Wolfe, who will retire from BC in early 2017. “I thought BC would be an excellent home for the center, and that’s how it’s turned out.” Praising the University’s leadership and support – notably President William P. Leahy, S.J., center benefactors and namesakes Geoffrey ’69 and Rene (Isacco) Boisi ’69, and late College of Arts and Sciences Dean Robert Barth, S.J., (under whose administration the center began) – Wolfe explains that BC’s Catholic and Jesuit intellectual tradition fit the center’s aims, and his own.
“A lot of programs in political science don’t ask the big questions in the way we do here, with a focus on faith, philosophy and the human tradition. It’s been a case where my interests and the things I wanted to explore dovetailed with BC’s mission.”
Sifting through memories and impressions from his Boisi Center years, Wolfe recalls moments that transcended the intellectual dimension of the center’s conversations. “We had a program on ‘conscience clauses’ – how to balance obligation versus conscience – and there was a wonderful, moving discussion with a Brigham & Women’s Hospital physician who dealt with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and on faith-based community initiatives with Rev. Bryan Hehir, who always contributed so much.
“There was another program on the plight of American sisterhood, with religious women in full habit and others who were completely secular, and it was fascinating.”
Wolfe also noted that Fr. Leahy had asked him to sit on the committee for Church and the 21st Century that organized events and programs addressing issues related to the clergy sexual abuse scandal after it had come to light. “As a result, BC was able to play an important role in this critical period of reflection and change for the Catholic Church.”
Boisi Center Associate Director Erik Owens will serve as interim director for the 2016-17 academic year before the post is assumed by current School of Theology and Ministry Dean Mark Massa, S.J.. “I like and respect Fr. Massa, and think he’ll do a wonderful job with the center,” says Wolfe.
“Alan Wolfe’s leadership of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life has engaged the most important political and intellectual questions of our age and brought a remarkable slate of leaders and scholars to the Boston College campus,” says Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, who will be among the speakers at the April 14 event.
“In an era that has seen the rise of the bombastic and the irrational, Alan has consistently offered a thoughtful and humanistic take on our politics and our culture. I’ve long admired his writing and speak for his many colleagues in thanking him for what he and the Boisi Center have meant to the University community.”
By Sean Smith | News and Public Affairs