What Does an Inclusive America Look Like?

Give Yourself a “You Are There” experience at the Summit on Pluralism by reviewing these notes submitted by Paulist Father John Geaney and consolidated in bullet points by Yours Truly. Find links to presenters and panelists for your own edification.

DAY ONE: Thursday 23 June 2023

Plenary Session: Whose Story Do we tell?

The Challenges and Importance of Accurate Religion Reporting and Story Telling.  As per the published Agenda cited above, Summit organizers offered participants several choices for each Breakout segment.  Fr. Geaney attended the following: Leveling the Public Square: Reporting on Religion in a Multifaith Society

• 43% of people surveyed feel coverage of religion causes anxiety for readers.

• 56% of people believe coverage of religion makes reality more complex, rather than less so.

• But 84% of people feel that religion should provide spokespeople when media chooses to cover religion.

• Fr. Geaney’s Personal Notes:

• The opening session was of great interest to me because I believe Churches do not, in general, do a good job of reporting the story of religion to the media or across the various platforms available to people.)
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) closed Catholic News Service in the past year. This decision of the Bishops is clearly in opposition to the surveys.)
  • While there were many religions represented among the speakers, there was less description of what needs to be done than I expected.

The Panelists:

Mark Silk, Religion News Service Greenberg Center Staff – Greenberg Center (trincoll.edu)

Roxane Stone, Religion News Service Managing Editor, RNS (religionnews.com)

Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service Jack Jenkins, Author at Religion News Service

 Adelle Banks, RNS Project Editor Adelle M. Banks, Author at Religion News Service – Page 3 of 154

See the links provided for each of the above speakers for examples of their presentation’s content.

This concludes Part Two of the Report on the Pluralism Summit. Scroll back to the top of the page and click “NEXT” for Part Three.