Successes

Faith in Public Life (FPL) has achieved many early successes in increasing the visibility and effectiveness of faith movements for justice and the common good. FPL has assisted partner groups in launching important new initiatives at the local, state, and national level. Through consistent media monitoring, FPL also has identified critical faith-related issues in current news cycles, and conducted extensive media outreach to ensure religious voices for justice and the common good are included for comment.

INITIATIVES

Mapping Faith: A National Directory of Faith Groups for Justice and the Common Good

Faith in Public Life has “mapped” 3,000 faith groups in 50 states and the list keeps growing!

Mapping Faith is a unique resource that allows users to sort diverse leaders and organizations by geography, policy specialization, and faith affiliation. FPL has compiled this information through research and personal interviews with faith leaders on the ground in each of these states. Read the Mapping Faith research report here.

We Believe Ohio: A Local Clergy Movement Goes Statewide

Faith in Public Life recognized a distinct opportunity to assist with the public launch for We Believe Ohio. While mapping the state, FPL identified potential in a diverse coalition of 150 faith leaders in Columbus called We Believe. Seeking to be a positive public voice of faith for the social justice in their state, We Believe stood in contrast to the exclusive and divisive voice of Religious Right. Drawing on a partnership with the Field Director for the Catholic Alliance for the Common Good, FPL assessed the coalition’s strengths and challenges. We Believe had vision and leadership, but little communications expertise or national connectivity.

FPL assisted in all aspects of We Believe Ohio’s public launch, including hands-on support in the execution of the public launch and the creation and implementation of a comprehensive media outreach strategy. FPL provided communications support, including: counsel on communications planning, message development and media outreach; a full-day speaker training session for ten We Believe Ohio spokespeople; and tactical counsel concerning press conference strategy, press kit materials preparation, and website and logo development.

The We Believe Ohio launch earned more than 50 media hits in print, TV and radio, including the Associated Press, Ohio Public Radio, local NBC and CBS affiliates, Columbus Dispatch and Dayton Daily News.

Building on the success of We Believe Ohio in Columbus, FPL helped initiate a state-wide effort. Inspired by the successful launch of We Believe, a Cleveland-based clergy coalition committed to the same goals as the Columbus group contacted FPL for guidance, consultation and support in launching We Believe in Cleveland.

FPL assisted in all aspects of We Believe Ohio’s launch in Cleveland, including organizing and executing a press conference attended by 116 clergy members and a standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 supporters. FPL also provided communications support, including: media outreach; press kit materials preparation; and on-site media coordination.

The We Believe Ohio launch in Cleveland generated substantial media coverage: multiple articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, including a column by Sam Fulwood titled “Rescuing God from the right”; local television and radio coverage, including NPR affiliates; and multiple blog sites, such as Street Prophets, Buckeye State Blog and Ohio 2006.

National Religious Campaign Against Torture: Launching an Interfaith National Campaign

Faith in Public Life helped the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) spread its message that any U.S. policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are morally intolerable. Media efforts were centered on its statement “Torture is a Moral Issue,” which appeared in the New York Times op-ed page and included an unprecedented list of signatories, including Purpose Drive Life author Rick Warren; Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel; Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; and former President Jimmy Carter. FPL helped coordinate a teleconference with key representatives from NRCAT, including Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, D.C, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Dr. Glen Stassen, Professor of Christian Ethics, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director, Islamic Society of North America.

FPL conducted substantial media outreach efforts around the teleconference and in the days leading up to the statement’s release. NRCAT received substantial media coverage, including articles from, United Press International, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, Roll Call and an Associated Press Broadcast article, which was included on 42 television station Websites across the country. Multiple blog sites wrote about the statement, including Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish. FPL also assisted Rev. Jim Wallis prepare for an interview on Fox New’s The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the NRCAT statement.

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. Katrina National Justice Commission Hearings: Supporting a National Social Justice Campaign

Faith in Public Life coordinated media efforts surrounding the first round of nationwide hearings by the Samuel Dewit Proctor Conference, Inc. to determine the successes and failures in the national, state and local response to Hurricane Katrina. The Commission is the first national independent body of African-American faith leaders to investigate the events preceding and following Hurricane Katrina. FPL guided the press strategy for the hearings, assisted in writing a media alert and press release to draw attention to the two-day conference, and conducted targeted media outreach to national and local reporters. The conference was well-attended, including reporters from the Associated Press, Scripps Howard, Vanity Fair and Religion News Service. Articles have appeared in The Times-Picayune, Scripps Howard Foundation Wire and the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch Website.