Conferences
The Politics of Faith, October 23-24, 2008
This conference offered nuanced perspectives as part of an effort to deepen the public's understanding of the role of religion in American politics. Experts in the field, including academics, philanthropists and journalists, discussed the history of the thorny relationship between religion and politics, the media's role in shaping public perceptions and discourse, and the influence of America's Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities in shaping political outcomes.RPGP would like to extend a special thanks to our co-sponsors the Institute of Governmental Studies, the Graduate Theological Union, and the Institute of International Studies
Follow-up: Pew Forum
Participants
Panel I. "The History of Religion in America's Public Square"
Allen Hertzke
Presidential Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma
Barbara McGraw
Director of the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism, St. Mary’s College of California; author of Rediscovering America's Sacred Ground
Kenneth Wald
Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Florida; author of The Politics of Cultural Differences
Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Florida; author of The Politics of Cultural Differences
Panel II. "Religion and the Media"
Roberta Green AhmansonAward-winning journalist, Chair of the Media Project of the Oxford Centre
for Religion and Public Life; Co-Editor and author of Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion, Oxford University Press
for Religion and Public Life; Co-Editor and author of Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion, Oxford University Press
President and Professor of Ethics at the Graduate Theological Union
Matthai Kuruvila
Panel III. "Religious Influence in American Politics"
Marc DollingerRichard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University; author of Quest for Inclusion: Jews and Liberalism in Modern America
Amaney JamalAssistant Professor, Department of Politics, Princeton University; Senior Advisor on the Pew Project on Islam in America
and Associate Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University; author of The Blame Game: Political Sophistication and the Politics of Attribution
Past Conferences
The Globalization Comes Home Project, February 2007
Working with The Institute of European Studies (IES), RPGP organized the "Globalization Comes Home" Project, the first in-depth, systematic effort at assessing the US not as a globalizing force but as a nation being transformed by globalization.
The project is culminating in the publication of a three-volume book set, to be published by Praeger Press in fall 2008.
Stopping Mass Atrocities, March 2007
The R2P Project, led by The Human Rights Center (HRC) brought together an international assembly of policymakers, legislators, religious leaders, scholars and activists to discuss the "responsibility to protect" and move the concept from principle to practice.
Following this historic conference, RPGP worked closely with HRC to write "R2P: Moving the Campaign Forward."
For God's Sake: Religion and Politics in the West, April 2007
RPGP partnered again with the Institute of European Studies to sponsor a conference focused on the role of religion in the Western world.
This project examined organized religion's influence on everyday life in light of such controversies as Pope Benedict's Regensburg speech; the influence of evangelicals in U.S. domestic and foreign policy and the global repercussions of the Danish publication of the Muhammad caricatures.
