March 18 symposium at Newseum addresses current challenges, future directions
Washington (March 15, 2013) - In the midst of growing debates over the meaning and scope of religious freedom - from the fight over contraception coverage under Obamacare to conflicts over gay rights and religious liberty - some of the nation's leading voices on religious freedom will convene at the Newseum in Washington, DC, on Monday, March 18, for a day-long symposium to discuss these contentious issues.
Panel one, "Is religious freedom under attack?" will begin at 10 a.m. in the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum. Panelists include Hoda Elshishtawy, legislative and policy analyst, Muslim Public Affairs Council; Wendy Kaminer, author and social critic; Richard Foltin, director of legislative and national affairs, American Jewish Committee; Mark Chopko, partner and chair of the Nonprofit & Religious Institutions practice group of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP; and Robert Tuttle, professor of law and religion, The George Washington University Law School.
Jeffrey Rosen, professor of law at The George Washington University and legal affairs editor for The New Republic, will speak at 12:15 p.m.
Panel two, "Religious freedom in the future: challenges and opportunities" will begin at 1:30 p.m. with panelists Holly Hollman, general counsel, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; Kim Colby, senior counsel, Center for Law and Religious Freedom, Christian Legal Society; Suhag A. Shukla, executive director and legal counsel for the Hindu American Foundation; Mark Rienzi, special counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Dan Mach, director, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; Michael Lieberman, director, Civil Rights Policy Planning Center, Anti-Defamation League.
The event is co-sponsored by Moment Magazine, the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, and the Committee on Religious Liberty of the National Council of Churches.
Media should RSVP to Ashlie Hampton at ahampton@freedomforum.org. Please indicate if you will be present for lunch at Noon.
Religious Education Freedom Project educates the public about the vital importance of religious freedom through events, educational programs and outreach. The project is an initiative of the First Amendment Center, a program of the Freedom Forum, and affiliated with the Newseum. The First Amendment Center's nonpartisan work supports the First Amendment and builds understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment. The center does not lobby or litigate. www.religiousfreedomeducation.org
Moment Magazine
Moment Magazine,co-founded in 1974 by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, offers independent journalism on politics, religion, and culture from a broad-spectrum Jewish perspective. The magazine reaches 100,000 readers through subscriptions, newsstands and its digital offerings. Last year, Moment won four awards from the Religion News Association (RNA), including first place for overall excellence in a magazine. Moment is an increasingly sought after resource for other media outlets and has been cited in various publications and websites, including USA TODAY, The Hill, The New York Time's Ideas blog, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR's All Things Considered and the Tikvah Fund's Jewish Ideas Daily.
Committee on Religious Liberty
The Committee on Religious Liberty serves as a key network for religious and civil liberty in the United States and internationally since its creation by the National Council of Churches in the 1960s. The members of the Committee are related to organizations which bring a variety of approaches to the important task of vouchsafing religious and civil liberty. Among its members are persons related to religious denominations, both inside and outside the NCC membership, academics, and practitioners from nonprofit advocacy and legal assistance groups related to religious liberty concerns. The Committee meets three times annually in Washington to examine pending and proposed legislation and to monitor pending litigation, primarily in the Federal Courts. The Committee itself takes no public position, but serves as a forum to air the myriad concerns present when balancing religious liberty with other, often conflicting, social issues.
Media Contact:
Ashlie Hampton, ahampton@freedomforum.org, 202-292-6288
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- March 15, 2013/
SOURCE The Religious Education Freedom Project at the Newseum
