Press Release
VALUES DEBATE TRANSFORMED: THE COMPASSION FORUM BRIDGES IDEOLOGICAL AND RELIGIOUS DIVIDES
The reviews are in and mainstream, conservative and progressive sources agree: The Compassion Forum, broadcast live internationally on CNN, signaled a dramatic shift in the national conversation about religion and politics. “Last night, the faith community made a profound statement about our values,” said Katie Barge, Director of Communications for Faith in Public Life, the organizer and co-sponsor of The Compassion Forum. “We simply cannot be pigeonholed into categories of left and right. Faith transcends ideological and religious divides. A new conversation about religion and politics has begun and it’s driven by compassion issues.” Religious leaders from across the faith and ideological spectrum were present at the Forum to ask Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to address poverty, global AIDS, abortion, climate change, genocide in Darfur, and torture. Their concerns reflected the new faith and values compassion agenda. CNN transcript available here.
THE REVIEWS ARE IN:
Faith in Public Life is setting an agenda and it is doing so with a “Big Tent” philosophy of letting different religious Americans bring their concerns to the fore. Last night a theologically diverse group of pre-selected clergy asked questions about euthanasia, environmental concerns, poverty, AIDS, the relation between science and faith, and so on. In so doing, they broadened the issue palette pertaining to religious politicking considerably. This is where Faith in Public Life is making a major contribution to national discourse. All of this was done--note this--without castigating or excluding secular Americans.
Jacques Berlinerblau, Washington Post “On Faith,” 4/14/08
Political candidates' fortunes aside, the forum likely served as a boon to both Faith in Public Life (FPL) and Messiah College. The former is a relatively new organization founded after the 2004 election that demonstrated that it can attract not just political candidates, but also religious leaders from a broad spectrum (in fact, evangelicals dominated the FPL-picked questions from the floor).
Christianity Today, 4/14/08
I think the other point, though, is not just how much the Democrats have changed, but how much the evangelicals in the audience, when you listen to the questions, have changed. Because there was abortion, but there were also questions on torture and the environment, which was a consistent theme, and HIV/AIDS and Africa and Darfur was mentioned. And I think you've seen a broadening of this social justice agenda among religious conservatives. That’s also an important point.
Michael Gerson, Former speechwriter for President Bush, CNN Post-Compassion Forum commentary, 4/13/08
Finally, (I know this is a long post) a quick shout out to Faith in Public Life, the group that put on this Compassion Forum. Kudos to Katie Barge and the gang over there who are really trying to start a new dialogue with Evangelicals across the spectrum. The group isn’t just trying to ram the progressive agenda down people’s throats. Conservative Evangelicals are fully welcome.
David Brody, Christian Broadcasting Network, 4/13/08
A phenomenal conversation, and it should not be the last time the Democrats begin to deal with this, because it certainly gave me a much better understanding of both candidates and their views on issues facing America.
Roland Martin, CNN Contributor, CNN Post-Compassion Forum commentary, 4/13/08
I do think it was a good night… I wish Senator McCain would have accepted the invitation to have come and been here also because this was a non-partisan event, and I wish he would have come. It would have been good to hear how he would have answered some of the same questions.
Dr. Frank Page, President, Southern Baptist Convention, CNN, Post-Compassion Forum, 4/13/08
Messiah College, a small Bible school in the Allegheny foothills south of Harrisburg, may not be everyone's idea of a national trendsetter. But the school hopes to be remembered as the place where America's religious politics began to change. Messiah was the host Sunday night of a "Compassion Forum" sponsored by a Washington interdenominational group called Faith in Public Life. … Organizers hope that the event, which opens the final full week before the critical Pennsylvania primary, will initiate a major reconsideration of the role that religion — particularly the social agenda of Christian churches — plays in presidential politics.
Hartford Courant, 4/14/08
The discussion represented a remarkable departure from the Democrats' increasingly harsh tone of campaign rhetoric. Both candidates dropped biblical references and spoke of policy issues such as energy and health care in the context of their Christian faith.
Washington Post, 4/14/08
At Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, both candidates were given ample time to answer questions from CNN hosts Campbell Brown and Joe Meacham, as well as various religious leaders in the audience… The forum was scheduled to move beyond “standard policy issues,” according to host Campbell Brown and the candidates tackled everything from personal religious experiences to abortion, euthanasia and international human rights.
Human Events, 4/14/08
The Forum was broadcast live on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Espanol. A special package of the Forum, including exclusive candidate and faith leader interviews, will be simulcast on the Church Communications Network to more than 1,000 churches nationwide this Sunday. Senator McCain was invited, but unable to attend.
The Compassion Forum was supported by The Compassion Forum Board, represented by faith leaders from across the ideological spectrum. Organizational co-sponsors were The ONE Campaign and Oxfam America.
