Religion in the 2012 Elections Symposium

 

The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and the Rice University Religion and Public Life Program are proud to co-sponsor a free public symposium examining the role religion will play in the 2012 election cycle:

James A. Baker III Hall, Rice University
6100 Main Street, Houston
January 25
1 — 4:30 p.m.

Religion has become a fixture in American electoral politics. In fact, social issues have arguably been more prominent in the early 2012 presidential campaign than economic concerns. While such clashes typically give off tremendous heat but shed little light, we believe these issues are too important to ignore — particularly given the stakes of the 2012 elections.

The half-day symposium will feature presentations from some of the leading researchers and national commentators on the nexus of religion and politics. Participants can choose from a variety of topical sessions to explore the issues they care about most. Learn more about the symposium by clicking on the links below:

    Schedule
    Headlining Panel
    Breakout Topics
    Speakers
    Venue/Parking Information
    Sponsors

After the symposium, continue the conversation at “An Evening with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Leonard Pitts," sponsored by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. The event begins at 7 p.m. at Congregation Emanu El, located next door to the Rice campus. Click here to purchase tickets for the Pitts evening lecture.

Schedule

12:30 p.m.   1:00 p.m.   2:30 p.m.   3:30 p.m.   4:30 p.m.

Registration opens Headlining panel, “Religion in the 2012 Elections” Breakout I Breakout II Program concludes

 

 

Headlining Panel

The main panel will feature a moderated conversation with three of the nation’s leading experts on the role religion plays in modern American electoral politics. This panel will focus particularly on the various ways religious issues and candidates’ beliefs affect the 2012 Presidential race.


John Green | Bio |
Described by the Los Angeles Times as the nation's "pre-eminent student of the relationship between religion and American politics," Dr. Green is a senior research adviser at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, specializing in religion and American politics, American evangelicals and politics, the Christian right, religion and elections, and religion and presidential politics.

D. Michael Lindsay | Bio |
Award-winning sociologist Michael Lindsay is the eighth president of Gordon College and is among the youngest presidents in the country among nationally ranked colleges and universities. Lindsay’s Pulitzer-nominated book, Faith in the Halls of Power, was listed in Publishers Weekly’s "Best Books of 2007."

Leonard Pitts Jr. | Bio |
A nationally syndicated columnist whose work appears regularly in newspapers around the country, Pitts was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is also a bestselling author. His critically-acclaimed first novel, Before I Forget, was released in 2009 and a collection of his columns, Forward From This Moment, was published that same year.

Panel Moderator, Paul Burka | Bio |
Paul Burka is the senior executive editor of Texas Monthly. Burka is a member of the State Bar of Texas and spent five years as an attorney with the Texas Legislature. He won a National Magazine award for reporting excellence in 1985 and the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award.

 

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Breakout Topics

Attendees can choose to attend two in-depth breakout sessions on the following topics:

Politics, Religion, and Immigration
(Dr. Elaine Howard Ecklund)

“Old” Culture Wars: Abortion and Gay Rights
(Dr. Anna Greenberg)

“New” Culture Wars: Islamophobia
(Dr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan)

Religion, Science and Politics
(Dr. Neal Lane)

 

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Speakers

Elaine Howard Ecklund | Bio | • Associate Professor of Sociology & Baker Institute Rice Scholar, Rice University • Director of the Religion and Public Life Program in the Social Sciences Research Institute, Rice

John Green | Bio | • Senior research adviser, Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life • Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Akron

Anna Greenberg | Bio | • Senior Vice President, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner

M. A. Muqtedar Khan | Bio | • Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware

Neal Lane | Bio | • Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, James A. Baker Institute • Malcolm Gillis University Professor, Rice University

D. Michael Lindsay | Bio | • President, Gordon College • Author of Pulitzer-nominated book, Faith in the Halls of Power

William Martin | Bio | • Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the Baker Institute • Chavanne Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Rice University

Leonard Pitts | Bio | • Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist • Author of the books Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood, Before I Forget and Forward From This Moment

 

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Venue/Parking Information

All symposium sessions will take place in James A. Baker III Hall (6100 Main Street, Houston). The Baker Institute is located on the campus of Rice University. Enter the campus at Entrance 20 off Rice Boulevard at Kent. Detailed directions are available here.

Parking is available in the Central Campus Garage.

 

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Sponsors

Texas Freedom Network Education Fund
The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, created in 1996, supports research and education efforts that promote religious freedom and individual liberties. The TFN Education Fund is widely recognized as an influential think tank on a number of critical social policy issues. The TFN Education Fund's growing library of original research has become invaluable to policy-makers on a wide range of church-state and education issues, such as the faith-based initiative, public school Bible courses and sex education. The TFN Education Fund also focuses on citizen education projects that help mainstream Texans formulate and advocate a faith-based response to the religious right’s policy agenda.

James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
The James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy is one of the nation’s most widely recognized and respected public policy think tanks, and an integral part of Rice University. The institute’s fellows and scholars do research on pressing domestic and foreign policy issues, collaborating with experts from academia, government, the media, business, and nongovernmental and private organizations. The Honorable James A. Baker, III, the 61st secretary of state and the 67th secretary of the treasury, serves as the institute’s honorary chair. The Baker Institute’s outreach efforts include conferences, speakers series and other special events.

Rice University Religion and Public Life Program
The mission of the Religion and Public Life Program is to encourage productive conversations about religion and public life, not only within the academy, but also between the academy and the general public, including scholars who study religion and religious leaders from different traditions. The RPLP recognizes that issues involving religion and the public—including debates about evolution, embryonic stem cell research, immigrant rights, and religious expression in the political and business world—often become divisive in language and rhetoric. As a forum for research and engagement involving institutions, social groups, and individuals, the RPLP is committed to mediating these conversations. Ultimately, the program trains students to do research and use research to expand understanding and advance dialogue about the role of religion in public life.

 

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