KNOXVILLE — Professor and author Donna Freitas, one of the country’s leading scholars of religion and youth culture, will share her views on spirituality and sexuality on college campuses at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Her latest nonfiction book, “Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America’s College Campuses,” is based on a national study about the influence of sexuality and romantic relationships on the spiritual identities of America’s college students.

Freitas will discuss her book and its public reactions at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the University Center garage.

Freitas traveled the country for the book, visiting a range of colleges and universities — from public to private, Catholic to evangelical — to find out what students had to say about these personal subjects. The book has been called fascinating and disturbing, as well as a must-read for anyone seeking to understand college campus culture.

Freitas writes nonfiction and fiction and is an assistant professor of religion at Boston University. Much of her writing, teaching and lecturing revolve around the struggles of belonging and alienation in relation to faith among young adults and especially young women.

A regular contributor to The Washington Post and Newsweek magazine’s online panel “On Faith,” the religion webzine Beliefnet.com and Publishers Weekly, she also has written for The Wall Street Journal, and has appeared as a commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Her other books include “Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us,” and “Save the Date: A Spirituality of Dating, Love, Dinner & the Divine.”

Freitas’ visit is sponsored by the university’s Issues Committee, with support from John XXIII Catholic Center, the Wesley Foundation and the Presbyterian Church (USA) Center. The Issues Committee brings informative issues to the campus. For more information on the Issues Committee visit http://cpc.utk.edu/Committees/issues.

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C O N T A C T :

Rebekah Winkler, (865-974-8304, rwinkler@utk.edu)

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