Release date: Sept. 13, 2006
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Faith, Politics, Policy to be Addressed at Conference

One month prior to the national elections, Emory University's Candler School of Theology will bring together nationally known speakers, preachers and workshop leaders Oct. 8-10 for a conference on "Faith, Politics and Policy" that will examine the church's critical and strategic role in shaping public policy and international relations.

Speakers will include Jim Wallis, founder and editor, Sojourners Magazine; James Forbes, senior minister, Riverside Church, New York City; Andrew Young, former ambassador to the United Nations; Jim Towey, president of St. Vincent College and former White House director of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist and editor of the opinion section of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Bishop Minerva Carcano, Desert Southwest Conference, United Methodist Church; Susan Pace Hamill, professor, University of Alabama School of Law; and Candler faculty members Robert Franklin, Emory Presidential Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics, and Don Saliers, Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship.

Topics to be addressed range from the federal budget and tax policy to the role of the church in shaping public discourse. Also scheduled are a variety of workshops conducted by Candler faculty, alumni and civic leaders on the political practices of the church, from "Preaching as a Political Act" and "Children in Poverty" to "Immigration Policy and the Church" and "The Skills and Strategies of Lobbying," among others.

The event is designed "to help people of faith navigate the troubled waters of modern American politics," says organizer David Jenkins, director of Candler's Faith and the City Program. "We believe that the Christian faith equips us for civic engagement in profound ways, and we hope to bear witness to that public theology and those religious practices."

The early bird rate for this conference has been extended until Sept. 30. Go to Candler's Web site to register .

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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