Thursday, September 18

Midterm 2014: Religion, Immigration & Politics
Despite, or perhaps, as a result of the gridlock in Washington over comprehensive immigration, the political importance of immigration continues to grow. How will immigration affect the mid-term election, and how are religious communities and religious beliefs impacting the electorate?

• Moderator: John Blake, CNN

• Robbie Jones, Public Religion Research Institute

• Suzii Paynter, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

• Teresa Fry Brown, Emory University

• Jerry Gonzalez, Georgia Alliance of Latino Elected Officials

Religion and Immigrant Support Networks
Religion and religious communities are often the place where immigrants turn for support and assistance. How are religious communities adapting to changes in immigration patterns? How are religious communities finding spaces of solidarity as well as hospitality for immigrants?

• Moderator: Silas Allard, Emory University

• Marie Marquardt, Emory University

• Don Kerwin, Center for Migration Studies

• Aparna Bhattacharyya, Raksha

Lunch sponsored by Pew Research and the Study of Law & Religion
An expert from the Pew Research Center will present some of the latest findings from the center's embargoed research examining issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs.

Religion and Immigration Integration
Immigration brings constant change to the face of religion in in the United States. How do immigrants adapt and change their new home? How do established religious communities adapt and welcome new immigrants and their new religious practices or ways of practicing?

• Moderator: Silas Allard, Emory University

• Abdullah An-Naum, Emory University

• Jehu Hanciles, Emory University

• Don Seeman, Emory University

• Karen Lyons, UMC Clarkston

Human Trafficking Report
Atlanta happens to be a hotbed for trafficking. But religious leaders worldwide have seized on the effort to end human trafficking and slavery. How are local religious leaders addressing the problem and what danger and obstacles are they encountering along the way?

• Moderator: Letitia Campbell, Emory University

• Sr. Marlene Weisenbeck, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships

• Jeff Shaw, Out of Darkness

• Alia El-Sawi, Department of Homeland Security

Reception sponsored by City on a Hill

Friday, September 19

Breakfast sponsored by Zondervan
J.D. Greear, The Summit Church

Welcome & keynote speaker
Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair

Meditation: Science, Spirit and Practice
In a 2014 cover story, Time magazine described a "Mindful Revolution," in which  stressed out Americans find focus and clarity, in part through meditation. But what exactly does meditation mean? What are its religious roots? What does science say—is it really good for you

• Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Emory University

• Dr. Clifford Saron, UC Davis

• Pamela Ayo Yetunde, pastoral counselor

Lunch sponsored by the Knights of Columbus

Results of the Women in Leadership Study
The Women in Leadership National Study (WILNS) is the first-ever academic study to investigate the representation of women in top leadership positions at the more than 1,400 evangelical nonprofit institutions in the United States. The panel discussion will present the results of this comprehensive study, and discuss how evangelical institutions are stacking up against broader societal benchmarks for women in leadership. The study has been led by researchers at Gordon College and Wheaton College, with support from the Imago Dei Fund of Boston and a national advisory board.

• Dr. Michael Lindsay, Gordon College

• Richard Stearns, World Vision U.S.

• Dr. Amy Reynolds, Wheaton College

• Dr. Janel Curry, Gordon College

God and Guns
More than 30,000 Americans die from gun violence every year, and some religious groups have been at the forefront of speaking out against violence. Yet little seems to have changed. What are the current religious efforts on this issue? How does faith shape the way various religious groups address questions about gun violence, gun ownership and open carry laws? How are attitudes toward guns intertwined with our beliefs about individual and religious freedoms?

• Rachel Lasser, Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism

• David P. Gushee, Mercer University

• Bryan Miller, Heeding God’s Call

• Jim Winkler, National Council of Churches

• Rev. Robert Wright, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Shoptalk 1: Discussing Deities
CNN's Eric Marrapodi will coach us on how to shoot video and appear on television to present our stories.

Shoptalk 2: Data on Deities
What's the difference between data storytelling, data visualization and data scraping? Experts share tools that will improve every religion reporter's game. Presented by Lee Clontz, Emory University.

College student RNA groups

RNS staff and board reception (private)

Dinner sponsored by Pure Flix

Saturday, September 20

Breakfast sponsored by Openly Secular
The Openly Secular coalition will be announcing details of a new multimedia campaign to eliminate discrimination and increase acceptance by getting secular people to be open about their beliefs.

Persecuted Out of Proportion?
The new book "Religious Hostility: A Global Assessment of Hatred and Terror," challenges the claims about persecuted Christians. We'll hear from the panel about how they came up with contradictory data and discuss how best to quantify Christians' persecution worldwide.

• Kate Corcoran

• Todd Johnson, Gordon Theological Seminary

• Michael Austin

Entertaining Faith and Sporting Religion
When is it appropriate (or inappropriate) to include faith angles in sports and entertainment? An athlete, a sports reporter, an actor and an entertainment reporter team up to help religion reporters understand the opportunities and challenges in covering those beats.

• Thomas Lake, Sports Illustrated

• Rebecca Cusey, Patheos

• Kulsoom Abdulla, Muslim weightlifting competitor

Presentation by Youth and Entertainment

Lunch sponsored by James Dobson’s Building a Family Legacy

Spiritual Not Religious
Who are the spiritual but not religious, and how do they   answer basic questions about life and death? The answers may surprise you. Before looking for them in a college town coffee shop, try looking at your local flea market. And to see their impact on culture, try attending a funeral these days - or "life celebration," or even a "FUN-eral." Some theologians say the spiritually unaffiliated mark life-cycle events superficially, but others say they have created refreshing new possibilities.

• Thomas Long, Candler School of Theology

• Glenda Stansbury, In-sight Institute

• Art Farnsley, Indiana University

RNA member meeting

Silent auction & reception

Banquet and awards presentation