The Public God - A Forum on the Role of Religion in Public Policy
On Tuesday, April 8th, The Sunday Edition hosted a forum titled The Public God. We heard a lively and provocative conversation about the role of faith in government, in public policies and in our culture. ...
On Tuesday, April 8th, The Sunday Edition hosted a forum titled The Public God. We heard a lively and provocative conversation about the role of faith in government, in public policies and in our culture.
Host Michael Enright was our guide to the discussion with a panel of distinguished guests; then he invited questions and comments from the audience. The forum will air on The Sunday Edition on CBC Radio One on April 13th.
You can listen to the first hour here - to listen to the second hour, which included audience questions, please click here.
Our thanks to the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto for hosting the forum.
Here are some photos from the event.
Photos by Konrad Ejbich.
OUR PANELLISTS WERE:
Rev. Gretta Vosper, United Church minister, author of With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe
Father Raymond de Souza, Chaplain at Queen's University and op-ed columnist with The National Post
Alia Hogben, Executive Director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and columnist with The Kingston Whig-Standard.
Janet Epp Buckingham, lawyer and professor at Trinity Western University and author of Fighting Over God: A Legal and Political History of Religious Freedom in Canada
Moustafa Bayoumi, Professor of English at Brooklyn College and author of How Does It Feel to Be a Problem: Being Young And Arab in America
Richard Chambers, director of the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Toronto.
We also heard from Lois Wilson, former moderator of the United Church of Canada, and a retired Canadian senator; and Judith Brunton and Ayesha Valliani, graduate students from U of T's Religion in the Public Sphere Initiative.
Here are Michael's opening remarks:
On its April 8th, 1966 cover, TIME Magazine posed this question in large red letters: Is God Dead.
The story inside was about three theologians who were trying to construct a theology without God.
Outrage was instant. Subscriptions were cancelled. There were almost 4,000 critical letters to the editor.
In the sacred tradition of balanced reporting, TIME ran a followup cover story the day after Christmas 1969. This time it asked, "IS GOD COMING BACK?"
In our forum tonight, we are going to explore the recurring appearance of God, or rather the idea of God, in the public sphere of human activity. What we are not going to do is debate whether or not God exists; we'll leave that to the theologians.
The fact that God - and how he or she wants we humans to behave - is no longer confined to the synagogue, the church, or the mosque is confirmed on a number of fronts. For example the arguments over the Quebec Charter were central to yesterday's election in Quebec.
The fact that God - and how he or she wants we humans to behave - is no longer confined to the synagogue, the church, or the mosque is confirmed on a number of fronts. For example the arguments over the Quebec Charter were central to yesterday's election in Quebec.
In popular culture, Francis became the first pope to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone - fitting for a man who has become a global rock star. There are as many as15 faith-based movies being released in US theaters this year; Noah is already raking it in.
In the US, the conflict between religious freedom and gender/sexual equality has become, in the words of one law professor, "the most important civil rights issue of the time."
In this country, there are rancourous debates over something called "reasonable accommodation." Our prime minister ends major speeches with God Bless Canada. We even have an office of Religious Freedom.
Tonight: Are we a pluralistic, secular society or are we more preoccupied with God and religious teachings than church attendance figures would have us believe?
Was the German martyr/theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer right when he wrote in 1944:"We are proceeding to a time of no religion at all."
Does religion have a role to play in the formulation of public policy?
Does religion have a role to play in the formulation of public policy?
How far should society go to accommodate the religious rights of all?
What happens when belief intersects with the general public interest?.
These and other questions I'll put to our panel for discussion in our first hour.
In our second hour it will be your turn to ask any questions you might have.
In our second hour it will be your turn to ask any questions you might have.