Thursday, October 4

Innovative Local Faith-based Anti-poverty Initiatives
Moderator: Cedric Johnson, Wesley Theological Seminary
Rev. Rudy Rasmus, St. Johns United Methodist Church
Rev. Tom Berlin, Floris United Methodist Church
Larry James, City Square
Greg Prince, independent scholar

Theater: Religious Freedom and the Presidential Election
Moderator: Michael Kessler, Georgetown University
Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
Joanna Brooks, scholar and author
Melissa Rogers, Wake Forest Divinity School
Jerome Copulsky, American University

What Should the Boundaries be on Reporting on Religion in Presidential Politics?
Moderator: Shaun Casey, Wesley Theological Seminary
Bill Keller, The New York Times
Melinda Henneberger, The Washington Post
David Campbell, University of Notre Dame
Amy Sullivan, writer and editor

Making the Fight Against Global Poverty Sexy
Moderator: Kendall Soulen, Wesley Theological Seminary
Abed Ayoub, Islamic Relief USA
David Beckmann, Bread for the World
Adam Taylor, World Vision
Lynn Samsel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Theater: Overview of Religion in the Election of 2012
Moderator: David McAllister, Wesley Theological Seminary
Sally Steenland, Center for American Progress
Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J., Georgetown University
Valerie Cooper, University of Virginia
Arsalan Iftikhar, The Muslim Guy

Reporting on Israel and the Jewish Community: What’s Fair, What’s Not?
Join J Street’s Steve Krubiner, New Israel Fund's Naomi Paiss, and Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society as they take a multidimensional look at the voting patterns and political leanings of the American Jewish community, including on such issues as Israel, Iran and a host of domestic issues. Discuss with these pros – and with moderator Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism – how to run the traps on controversial issues in this outspoken community without being pigeonholed or labeled with bias.

• Moderator: Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center

• Steve Krubiner, J Street

• Naomi Paiss, New Israel Fund

• Melanie Nezer, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

Tour: rebuilding the National Cathedral with introduction of new dean, the Rev. Canon Gary R. Hall

Reception and press briefing from John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
John Ortberg is passionate about "spiritual formation,” which is how people become more like Jesus. Ortberg is the author of many books, including his most recent, "Who is This Man: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus. Welcome to an evening of food and stimulating thought about arguably the most familiar figure in history—Jesus. John is Senior Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, a 4,000-member church in Northern California with campuses in Menlo Park, Mountain View, and San Mateo.

Friday, October 5

Breakfast and press briefing: 50 Shades of Evangelicalism—Diversity Among Young American Evangelicals
Who’s under the Big Tent of American Evangelicalism confuses Evangelicals too. For starters, what is one? Do even Evangelicals know who they are, what they’re not, what they believe?

• Moderator: Brad Russell, FaithVillage.com

• Johnathan D. Fitzgerald, PatrolMag.com and Patheos

• Robert Jones, Public Religion Research Institute

• Patton Dodd, Bondfire Books and Beliefnet.com

Whose First Amendment?
Journalists and lawyers have been busy writing and arguing over plenty of issues that center on free speech, religious exercise and the role of government. We¹ll hear from people on several sides about some of the most controversial current issues affecting national politics and local communities: fights over same-sex marriage, religious exemptions sought for health care regulations, adoption and other services.

• Daniel Mach, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief

• Anthony Picarello, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

• Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center and the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum

Apocalypse 2012? The Fringe and the Mainstream
Don't worry about filing Hanukkah/Christmas stories this year. If the ancient Maya were right, 11 weeks from the date of this panel, on Dec. 21, 2012, the End of Days will be unto us. The end of the world has fascinated religious leaders from Isaiah to Jesus to Muhammad to Harold Camping. What are some new End Times angles that will fascinate our readers as we approach the Apocalypse? Introduce us to people who are living out these end times ideas in ways that seem unusual; how do those ideas trickle down to regular folks? Is the belief that the world may end—or fundamentally change––becoming more or less common?

• Dick J. Reavis, author

• Simon Martin

• Frederick Ware, Howard University School of Divinity

Lunch and press briefing: Getting Beyond the Labels in an Election Year: U.S. Views on Key Religious Issues
In the run-up to the presidential election, Lee Miringoff Ph.D., director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, and Barbara Carvalho Ph.D., director of the Marist Poll, present data and insights on Campaign 2012 and the views of the American electorate toward religious and moral issues, looking at numbers that go beyond the typical labels and conventional wisdom on high profile issues.

Faith Outreach by the Obama and Romney Campaigns
Top level staff from both campaigns will talk about the role of faith communities in this tight election for U.S. President.

• Mark DeMoss, senior advisor to the Romney-Ryan campaign

• Broderick Johnson, Catholic outreach coordinator for the Obama-Biden campaign

• Michael Wear, national faith vote coordinator for the Obama-Biden campaign

A Conversation with Eckhart Tolle by Krista Tippet
On Being host Krista Tippett will have a conversation with Eckhart Tolle, once described in The New York Times as the country's most popular spiritual author. Oprah Winfrey, who created a 10-part webinar series with Tolle about his spiritual teachings that was viewed by an estimated 35 million people, helped popularize Tolle's work.

Dinner and press briefing: Freeing the Untouchables
Indian Civil Rights leader Joseph D’souza and Matthew Cork, lead pastor of the world's largest Evangelical Quaker church, have joined forces to fight the poverty and problems among India's "untouchables"—those 250 million "slumdogs" also known as Dalits. Cork’s church is giving $20 million to D’souza’s growing Dalit schools, spinning off clinics, women’s rescue, micro-businesses, and churches. “NOT TODAY” is a feature film about their work, starring Nickelodeon’s Hollywood Heights sensation Cody Longo.

Saturday, October 6

Breakfast and press briefing: Stephen Prothero on the American Bible
Bestselling author and renowned religion scholar Stephen Prothero will discuss his new book, “The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide, and Define a Nation.” A groundbreaking collection of the texts that have historically defined and re-defined what it means to be an American, The American Bible puts these hallowed words back into their original context, and in doing so unearths our longstanding tradition of civil debate that has been lacking in recent political discourse.

Press briefing: Not Cast in Caste—A Hindu Perspective Against Caste-based Discrimination
Suhag A. Shukla, Hindu American Foundation

Mormonism in the Era of Romney and the Book of Mormon
From presidential candidates to pop-culture hits, Mormons are in the public spotlight more than ever. But are they truly part of the American religious and cultural mainstream? Is the new public status changing the faith, its practice at the grassroots, and perceptions among non-Mormons? How do religion reporters cover all this?

• Terryl Givens, University of Richmond

• Jana Riess, Westminster John Knox Press

• Darius Gray, Tesla Corp. and author

Religion and Politics by the Numbers
Please join us for a special, pre-release discussion of the report’s findings, led by Pew Forum Senior Researchers Greg Smith and Cary Funk, principal researchers of the study, who will share what they learned about this group’s political leanings, demographic profile, diverse beliefs and practices, and more. John Green, who advised on the project, will discuss the impact this group may bring to bear on the upcoming election and on American politics and society more broadly. At the end of the session, Kim Lawton, managing editor for "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly,” will share a sneak-peak of an upcoming mini-series that will offer a rich profile of religiously unaffiliated Americans based in part on the report’s findings.

• Cary Funk, Pew Forum

• John Green, Pew Forum and the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron

• Greg Smith, Pew Forum

Lunch and press briefing
The Word and the News: Do the Scriptures hold any relevance to the major issues of our time? Can they illuminate the the complex contemporary questions we face as individuals and as a nation? Three noted biblical scholars who analyze current events through the lens of Scripture explore these questions.

• Barbara K. Lundblad, Union Theological Seminary

• Matthew L. Skinner, Luther Seminary

• Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, The Huffington Post

Nuts and Bolts of Publishing for Religion Journalists: Who to Follow, How to Get a Book Deal
This panel seeks to answer some of the questions journalists most want answered about crafting compelling writing across platforms and using the publishing world to your advantage: How do you get a book deal? In a changing publishing climate, how do we determine what books—or e-books—are newsworthy and influential? What publishers should you follow? Some journalists have successfully adapted their writing voice to tweets, blogs, columns, and news features. How do you keep from getting lost in the details of your beat to write simply and conversationally? How can you keep your writing fresh when you trod the same subject area? How do you get money to fund your book project?

• Christopher Ferebee, Yates & Yates LLP

• Marcia Z. Nelson, Publishers Weekly

• Chris Cillizza, The Fix

RNA member meeting

Silent auction

Awards banquet and press briefing on the state of the Bible by the American Bible Society