Religion in the Public Sphere: Case Studies in Hope and Stress
April 25, 2016
Over the past three years the Pulitzer Center has commissioned multiple reporting projects on the theme of religion and public policy, working in partnership with major media outlets and with leading universities. The Religion and Power Gateway presents Pulitzer Center reporting on these themes from throughout the world—from the explosive growth of mega churches in Africa and Latin America to intra-Islam schisms of the Middle East, to the self-immolation of Tibetan Buddhist monks and Buddhist soldiers running roughshod over the rights of Burmese Muslims, to the struggles of faith groups everywhere to come to terms with human sexuality.
This work was made possible in part through the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, in a grant that encouraged the Pulitzer Center to forge partnerships with academic specialists and institutions so as to raise the level of its journalism and extend its reach. The Center has worked in tandem with Washington University in St. Louis, American University, Yale University, the University of Chicago, the University of Southern California and the Communication University of China. It has presented joint journalism/academic symposia in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, New Haven and Beijing. The daylong conference in St. Louis marks the capstone of this initiative and we hope the launchpad for work to come.
8:30-9:00am Arrival and coffee
Women’s Building Formal Lounge
9:00-9:15am Welcome
John Bowen, Washington University
Jon Sawyer, Executive Director, Pulitzer Center
9:15am-10:30pm Panel I: Religion and Environment
Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment helped shift public opinion—and policy— in the lead-up to the historic climate-change agreement in Paris. Religious and cultural influences are a factor in China’s growing environmental awareness and an emerging theme in inter-faith dialogues on environment in the U.S. and Europe.
Panelists:
Liu Jianqiang, environmental journalist and Buddhist, China Dialogue
Jon Sawyer, Executive Director, Pulitzer Center
Justin Catanoso, Associate Professor, Journalism, Wake Forest University
Moderator: Tim Townsend, News Editor, Timeline.com; former religion reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
10:30-11:00 am Break
11:00am-12:15pm Panel II: Religion and Reproductive Rights
How faith shapes public policy—an examination of how religious belief and tradition play a critical role in defining evolving attitudes toward family planning, reproductive health and the global hot-button issue of abortion. Case studies from Africa, Southeast Asia and the United States.
Panelists:
Tom Hundley, senior editor, Pulitzer Center
Laura Bassett, Huffington Post
Cynthia Gorney, National Geographic, author of “Articles of Faith”
Lauren Herzog, World Faiths Development Dialogue, Berkley Center, Georgetown University
Moderator: Tim Townsend
12:15-1:45pm Catered Lunch
1:00 pm Introduction: Holden Thorp, Provost
Speaker: Marie Griffith, Director, John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
2:00-3:15pm Panel III: Assimilation or Confrontation? The Muslim Experience in Europe, the United States, and Beyond
Assimilation or Confrontation: How the Muslim experience is expressed in Europe, America and beyond. The radicalized minority and the trickle of recruits to jihadist groups dominate the headlines, but the mainstream of Islam in the United States and Europe is seeking ways to adjust and accommodate itself to societies in which it is not the dominant faith.
Panelists:
John Bowen, Washington University
Geneive Abdo, non-resident fellow, Brookings Institution
Sherria Ayuandini, Washington University
Nick Street, University of Southern California
Maryam Kashani, Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University
Moderator: Tom Hundley, Senior Editor, Pulitzer Center
3:15-3:30 pm Break
3:30-4:45 pm Panel: Global Issues, Local Debate
Politicians are calling for the exclusion of Muslim immigrants. Climate-change denial remains for many a touchstone of religious faith. Abortion clinics are the focus of bitter, sometimes violent, protest. In a time of polarization and anger can religious faith be a force for positive dialogue and political consensus?
Panelists:
Shaun Casey, Special Representative, Religion and Global Affairs, State Department
Marie Griffith, Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University
Don Belt, University of Richmond, Out of Eden Walk Project
Ann Peters, Campus Consortium Director, Pulitzer Center
Moderator: Kem Knapp Sawyer, contributing editor, Pulitzer Center
4:45-5:00 pm Closing Remarks
Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center
John Bowen, Washington University
5:00 – 6:00 pm Reception
6:00pm Public Forum:
Welcome: James Wertsch, Vice Chancellor, Washington University
Speaker: Shaun Casey, Special Representative, Religion and Global Affairs, State Department
Title: What’s Religion Got To Do With Foreign Policy?
Moderator: Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center