The
59th RNA Annual Conference Sept.
17–21, 2008, Washington, D.C.
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PRESS
CONFERENCE Obama campaign representatives
Josh DuBois, Barack Obama's National Director of Religious Affairs, and Shaun
Casey of the Wesley Theological Seminary meet with RNA membership
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NEW
SURVEY RELEASE 2008
National Survey of Religion & Politics
Conducted at the
University of Akron in every presidential election since 1992, the 2008 National
Survey of Religion and Politics offers a baseline for assessing the role
of religion in the 2008 presidential election. John Green, the director of
the study will release the 2008 pre-election survey and offer comparisons
to the pre-election surveys in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. Moderated by Joe
Rodriguez, The Wichita Eagle.
PRESENTER S • John
Green , professor of political science, University
of Akron ; director, Ray C. Bliss
Institute of Applied Politics Luis E. Lugo , director, Pew
Forum on Religion & Public Life
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Awards
Banquet & Dessert Reception
PANEL About
Islam
A lecture and
Q&A covering the basics of the faith
SPEAKER Imam Mohamed Magid , director, All
Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS)
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PANEL Women
and American Islam
Discussion on how American Muslim women are increasingly taking on leadership
roles in their communities and the implications for the U.S. and beyond
SPEAKER S • Maha ElGenaidi , founder & president of Islamic
Networks Group (ING)Daisy Khan , executive director, American
Society for Muslim Advancement Dalia Mogahed , executive director, Gallup
Center for Muslim Studies Mona Eltahawy , freelance
journalist and commentator
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PANEL American
Muslim Civic Participation
Discussion on rising civic and interfaith participation from the American
Muslim community and what it means to communities throughout the U.S.
SPEAKER S • Edina Lekovic , communications director, Muslim
Public Affairs Council Zeenat Rahman , outreach and training coordinator, Interfaith
Youth Core Farid Senzai , director of research, Institute
for Social Policy and Understanding Dawud Walid , executive director, Council
on American-Islamic Relations—Michigan
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PANEL Reporting
on American Muslims
Discussion on current coverage and how to overcome challenges reporting on the
American Muslim community
SPEAKER S • Maria Ebrahimji , producer, CNN Anisa Mehdi , documentary filmmaker • Tayyibah
Taylor , Azizah Magazine Jamie Tarabay , NPR
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Getting
Up to Speed on Multimedia: A
Practical Primer for Print Religion Journalists
Workshop speaker: Lynda
Kraxberger , Missouri
School of Journalism ( VIDEO ) ( VIDEO ) ( VIDEO )
Sponsored press
conference by Baylor: "What Americans Really Believe." Rodney Stark
and Baylor Scholars to Unveil New Results from National Survey on Americans'
Beliefs and Practices
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VIDEO ) ( VIDEO )
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PANEL Putting
Faith in Politics
Seasoned political
commentators discuss the roles faith communities have played in this year's
presidential campaign—
from candidates'
personal beliefs to the effectiveness of Democrats to appeal to religious
voters. Moderated by Adelle Banks, Religion News Service.
SPEAKER S • Michael Gerson , op-ed columnist, The
Washington Post, former chief speechwriter for President George W. BushAmy Sullivan , national correspondent, TIME
magazine
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PANEL The
New Religion Page
Editors of some of the best online religion pages will talk about how their religion
sections made the transition from paper to the Web. Moderated by Mirko Petricevic,
Waterloo Region Record. ( VIDEO )
SPEAKER S • Cathy Grossman , religion reporter, USA
TODAY Sam Hodges , religion reporter, The
Dallas Morning News ( VIDEO ) ( VIDEO ) David Waters , editor & producer, On
Faith
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PANEL Strangers & Aliens
Among Us
The immigrant experience is as old as Abraham. This panel will look at how U.S.
faith communities respond to immigrants, and how congregations welcome worshippers
who may be precious in the eyes of God but illegal in the eyes of the state.
Moderated by Abe Levy, San Antonio Express-News. ( VIDEO )
SPEAKER S • J.
Kevin Appleby, director of migration and refugee policy, Migration
and Refugee Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ( VIDEO ) ( VIDEO ) Roy Beck , founder and CEO, NumbersUSA (VIDEO ) ( VIDEO ) Kim Bobo , founder and executive director, Interfaith
Worker Justice ( VIDEO ) ( VIDEO )
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PANEL We
Believe In No God, and You Shouldn't Either
Outspoken atheists have produced a host of bestsellers over the past two years
with bold challenges to religious faith. This panel will probe the dynamics of
atheism and secularism as broad movements, and examine the different perspectives
of those who seek morals and meaning beyond religion. Moderated by William Lobdell,
Four Boys New Media.
SPEAKER S • Jennifer Michael Hecht , author, "The
End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism and Anthropology " Barry Kosmin , director, Institute
for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture Paul Kurtz , founder, Center
for Inquiry and
author, "Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism"
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PANEL The
Spiritual Abraham Lincoln
(at nearby New York Ave Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Ave. NW)
SPEAKER S • David Early , Library
of Congress Dewey Wallace , religious studies professor, George
Washington University Ronald C. White Jr. , author of
two bestselling books on Abraham Lincoln
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PANEL The
Challenge of Catholic Schools
Most of the teachings nuns are gone, and so are many of the students. Why are
parochial schools closing in some areas, growing in others or changing to meet
modern realities? In addition to reviewing trends in Catholic parochial education,
Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., will speak about the unique solutions
he tried in an attempt to keep open inner-city Catholic schools. Moderated by
Michael Paulson, The Boston Globe.
SPEAKER S • Mark Gray , research associate, CARA Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl , Archdiocese
of Washington
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PANEL Sourcing
Islam: Nuanced Reporting on a Contested Faith
DOWNLOADS Shahed Amanullah
Dalia Mogahed
Confused about who to call to get responsible and informed views from within
the Islamic community? You're not alone. This panel will help you locate credible
sources on Islam and understand where they stand on the Muslim political, theological
and social spectrum. Moderated by Matthai Kuruvila, San Fransico Chronicle.
SPEAKER S • Shahed Amanullah , founder, Halalfire
Media LLC , and editor-in-chief, Altmuslim.com Paul Barrett , assistant managing editor, BusinessWeek American
Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion " Dalia Mogahed , executive director, Gallup
Center for Muslim Studies
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PANEL Boggled by Blogging?
A growing number of religion reporters are being asked to blog for their outlet's
website. This panel will look at how to make your blog more interesting than
the thousands of others out there, when to find time to write it and how to deal
with controversial subject matter in this more personal forum. Moderated by Kristen
Campbell, The Press-Register, and held at The Washington Post's auditorium.
SPEAKER S • Manya Brachear , Chicago
Tribune Terry Mattingly , GetReligion.org Andrea Useem , freelancer, ReligionWriter.com
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PANEL Whither Congregations?
The big wooden doors are closing as graying churches and synagogues can no longer
sustain themselves in changing neighborhoods. This panel will look at why some
neighborhood congregations are dying and how others are reinventing themselves
to reach out to new flocks of faithful in coffeehouses, warehouses and homes.
Moderated by Cecile Holmes, University of South Carolina.
SPEAKER S • Diana Butler Bass , author ,
speaker and independent scholar specializing in American religion and cultureAndre Daley , leader, Mosaic
Life (Christian faith community) Julia Duin , assistant national editor of religion, The
Washington Times, and author of the book, "Quitting Church"
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PANEL The Mission of Architecture
Pour your dollars into a beautiful, historic building, or put the money to work
on spreading the faith and caring for the needy? This workshop will look at ways
some Washington congregations have found to resolve that dilemma, and what happens
when outsiders try to landmark a house of worship against the will of the faith
community. Moderated by Kevin Eckstrom, Religion News Service.
SPEAKER S • Darrow Kirkpatrick , (retired) First Reader, Third
Church of Christ, ScientistBob Jaeger , executive director, Partners
for Sacred Places
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PANEL Surveying Surveys
Reporters are bombarded with purported poll and survey results on religious belief
and practice. But how do we know which studies are trustworthy and how to interpret
what they say? We look at sound and faulty data and help you find ways to tell
which is which. Moderated by Jacqui Salmon, The Washington Post, and held at
The Washington Post's auditorium.
SPEAKER S • Roger Finke , director, Association
of Religion Data Archives Ed Stetzer , president, LifeWay
Research Dan Cox, research director, Public
Religion Research
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Wednesday dinner :
In 2006, The Fetzer Institute launched a multi-year Campaign for Love & Forgiveness
(CLF) with one simple goal: to encourage conversation and reflection
about how love and forgiveness can effect meaningful change in individuals
and society. Since then, thousands of people in communities across the
country—from Rochester, New York to San Diego, Calif.—have participated
in community-based facilitated conversations using a curriculum designed
by the Institute. Have the conversations worked? You’ll hear Beverly
Dorn Steele, director of Educational Services & Outreach for WTVI
(PBS) and project director for the CLF in Charlotte, North Carolina and
Josephine Washington, founder and president, Growth Resources International—two
women who have been involved with the campaign since its launch—discuss
their individual experiences and the reaction from the Charlotte community.
Then, forgiveness researcher Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Ph.D., a professor
at Virginia Commonwealth University, shares the latest developments in
the field of forgiveness research. Dr. David G. Addiss, senior program
officer for Science & Spirituality at The Fetzer Institute introduces
this panel.
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Wednesday
luncheon :
Why has the Christian faith been tagged as for the mentally dull?
Why have Christians been labeled as non-thinkers? Has the message
of Christ really been proven to be the stuff of fairy tales? Has
science really invalidated the need for faith? Are Christians really
naïve, intellectually blind and misled? Have you ever asked yourself
these very questions? Join Dr. Will Davis, Jr. as he investigates
these very questions and puts all the cards on the table about Christianity.
Despite reports to the contrary, faith and reason are not mutually
exclusive. We will also dive more into his upcoming book, “Why Faith
Makes Sense.”
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Thursday
luncheon : The Council for America’s First Freedom (CFAFF)
presents Ambassador Robert A. Seiple (President, CFAFF), former U.S.
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom), who will
give the talk: “Religious Freedom: a great subject for polite company.”
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Friday luncheon: DEBATE:
How "Christian" Does
a Presidential Candidate Need to Be? The 2008 presidential primary
campaign featured a Mormon, a Southern Baptist preacher, a Methodist,
a liberation theology proponent, and some who acknowledged not attending
church very often. Religious conservatives and others expressed differing
views on the importance of doctrinal alignment with a candidate for
president and faith became one of the most contentious issues of this
election cycle. This debate will explore the importance and appropriateness
of this issue in a presidential campaign and will include a Q & A
session. Speakers: Dr. Robert Jeffress is the senior pastor of First
Baptist Church, Dallas, and the author of sixteen books, including
his latest title, Second Chance, Second Act (WaterBrook Press 2007).
Jeffress hosts a television and radio program, “Pathway to Victory,”
and teaches a daily sermon series, which airs on 1,200 TV stations
and cable in the U.S. and in 28 countries. Jay Sekulow is chief counsel
for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), is the nation’s
top conservative civil liberties law firm. Sekulow has presented oral
arguments in numerous cases before the Supreme Court. In 2005, TIME
magazine named Sekulow one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals" in
America and called the ACLJ "a powerful counterweight" to the ACLU.
Moderated by sponsor Mark DeMoss, president, The DeMoss Group.
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PAID ADVERTISEMENTS
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Religion Newswriters
presents a guide to the basics of reporting on religion, including important resources
and advice about potential pitfalls. Faith and ethics intersect with every topic
journalists cover these days. This guide will help veteran journalists, rookies,
radio and television reporters and online media providers add insight, balance
and context to their stories.
THE
BASICS
BEST PRACTICES
RESOURCES
A ROUNDUP OF RELIGIONS The world’s
largest belief systems The big three
Beyond
the big three RELIGION
OUTSIDE THE BOX
ISSUES
FOR REPORTERS AND
EDITORS
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