Religion in the Public Sphere: Case Studies in Hope and Stress

Join Pulitzer Center and Campus Consortium partner Washington University in St. Louis for an exploration of religion and public policy on Monday, April 25, 2016. The day-long forum is supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Location: Ann W. Olin Women's Building Formal Lounge, main campus

Opening Remarks (9:00 am- 9:15 am)
Opening remarks by Pulitzer Center's Executive Director Jon Sawyer and John Bowen, Dunbar-Van Cleve Professor in Arts and Sciences Sociocultural Anthropology at Washington University.

Panel 1 (9:15 am-10:30 am): "Religion and Environment"
This panel explores the ways religious and cultural influences factor into the growing environmental awareness around the world. Participants include Pulitzer Center grantee Justin Catanoso of Wake Forest University, environmental journalist Liu Jianqiang and Jon Sawyer. Tim Townsend, news editor at Timeline.com and author of Mission at Nuremberg, moderates.

Panel 2 (11:00 am-12:15 pm): "Religion and Reproductive Rights"
This panel examines how faith shapes public policy and how religious belief and tradition play a critical role in defining evolving attitudes toward family planning, reproductive health and abortion. Participants include Pulitzer Center Senior Editor Tom Hundley, grantee Laura Bassett, National Geographic's Cynthia Gorney, and Lauren Herzog of the World Faiths Development Dialogue, Berkley Center and Georgetown University. Tim Townsend moderates.

Lunch (12:45 pm-1:45 pm)
Luncheon talk at 1 pm
Welcome: Holden Thorp, Provost, Washington University in St. Louis
Remarks: Marie Griffith, Director, John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University in St. Louis

Panel 3 (2:00 pm-3:15 pm): "Assimilation and Confrontation"
This panel explores the Muslim experience and how it is expressed in Europe, America and beyond. Panelists include Nick Shindo Street of the University of Southern California, Pulitzer Center grantee; Geneive Abdo, senior fellow at The Atlantic Council; Sherria Ayuandini, graduate student with the Anthropology Department at Washington University; Maryam Kashani, postdoctural research associate at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics; and Professor John Bowen. Moderated by Tom Hundley, Senior Editor, Pulitzer Center.

Panel 4 (3:30 pm-4:45 pm): "Global Issues, Local Debate"
This panel examines whether religious faith can be a force for positive dialogue and political consensus in a time of polarization and anger. Panelists include Ann Peters, Pulitzer Center's director of development and outreach; Shaun Casey, special representative for religion and global affairs, U.S. State Department; Marie Griffith, director of the John C. Danforth on Religion and Politics; and Don Belt of the University of Richmond, organizer of the Out of Eden Walk Project curriculum, and former foreign editor and chief foreign correspondent for National Geographic. Pulitzer Center contributing editor Kem Knapp Sawyer moderates.

Closing Remarks and Reception (4:45 pm-6:00 pm)
Closing remarks by Jon Sawyer and John Bowen, followed by a reception.

Public Forum (6:00 pm): "What's Religion Got To Do with Foreign Policy?"
Welcome by James Wertsch, vice chancellor at Washington University
Remarks: Shaun Casey, special representative for religion and global affairs, U.S. State Department
Moderator: Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center

Lunch will be served at this event. Participants are encouraged to stay for the entire forum. Space for this event is limited so if you rsvp that you are coming and your plans change please let us know as soon as possible so that we can make the space available to someone else.

To register for the event, please visit Eventbrite.

Religion in the Public Sphere: Case Studies in Hope and Stress
Monday, April 25, 2016
9:00 AM—7:30 PM
Washington University in St. Louis
Ann W. Olin Women's Building
Formal Lounge
St. Louis, MO 63130