Events

The Religious Freedom Center and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) will host a celebration of the publication of “Teaching about Religion in the Social Studies Classroom,” an invaluable new resource from NCSS.

About the Book: The study of religion is essential for understanding the past and present, and critical for global citizenship in a religiously diverse country and world. This book provides advice, recommendations and resources to help social studies educators know what to teach about religion and how to do it.

Panelists:

• Charles Haynes, founding director of Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute and editor of “Teaching about Religion in the Social Studies Classroom”
• Ben Marcus, religious literacy specialist of Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute
• Kristen Farrington, executive director of Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute
• Susan Douglass, education outreach coordinator at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University
• Donna Phillips, PhD, director of curriculum & assessment innovations, DC Public Schools
• Emile Lester, associate professor at the University of Mary Washington

Charles C. Haynes	Benjamin P. Marcus	Kristen Farrington	Susan Douglas	Donna Phillips, PhD

This event has been cancelled.

The Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute will host the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Summer Religious Studies Institute at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The program, to be held July 9 – 11, 2019, will convene K-12 public school educators in the nation’s capital to explore issues of religious freedom and diversity in the classroom. Educators will learn about religious studies as an academic discipline, and have the opportunity to develop working relationships with leading religious studies subject matter experts and curricular resource providers.

The NCSS Summer Religious Studies Institute is limited to 60 participants. For more information and to register, please visit socialstudies.org.

Religious Liberty, Religious Literacy & Civil Dialogue

This three-session intensive will give local interns the opportunity to learn about the role of religion in public life while exploring our three areas of competency: religious liberty, religious literacy, and civil dialogue. We will host the interns on three Fridays during the month of July. Participants will be introduced to experts who are actively engaged in addressing these issues in their local and national context.

The registration period is now – June 30, 2019. The registration cost is $40 per person which covers all three training sessions. For questions, please contact Dr. Sabrina Dent, director of programs and partnerships, at sdent@newseum.org.

The world is increasingly visual, story-driven and mobile dominated. It’s urgent we identify, equip and mobilize leaders to create short films to share empowering messages.

The Dare to Overcome film competition challenged women filmmakers from around the world to produce short films that showcase inclusivity and multi-faith living in the workplace and community.

In partnership with the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and Empower Women Media, we will showcase women’s short films that are compelling explorations of the impact of freedom of belief and how this helps empower women, religious minorities and the displaced. The screening will include a panel discussion with film makers and a reception.

Speakers Include

Iranian-American Shirin Taber directs the Middle East Women’s Leadership Network and Empower Women Media. She is passionate about helping leaders produce media for their missions.

Brian Grim, Ph. D., is president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and a leading scholar on international religious demography and the socio-economic impact of religious freedom.

The Hon. Suzan Johnson Cook (Ambassador Sujay) is a distinguished lecturer at the Freedom Forum Institute’s Religious Freedom Center. Nominated by Secretary Hillary Clinton and appointed by President Barack Obama, she was the third U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, becoming the first woman, first African American and first faith leader to hold this post.

Religious Liberty, Religious Literacy & Civil Dialogue

This three-session intensive will give local interns the opportunity to learn about the role of religion in public life while exploring our three areas of competency: religious liberty, religious literacy, and civil dialogue. We will host the interns on three Fridays during the month of July. Participants will be introduced to experts who are actively engaged in addressing these issues in their local and national context.

The registration period is now – June 30, 2019. The registration cost is $40 per person which covers all three training sessions. For questions, please contact Dr. Sabrina Dent, director of programs and partnerships, at sdent@newseum.org.

The Religious Freedom Center, as a nonpartisan and nonsectarian initiative, is committed to promoting dialogue and understanding among people of all religious traditions and none. We carry out this mission by providing civil dialogue training and workshops, hosting the Committee on Religious Liberty, and building partnerships with organizations that represent a broad spectrum of religious and ideological perspectives.

Religious and civic leaders, educators, and business leaders are uniquely positioned to help cultivate an informed and engaged citizenry. Having the ability to facilitate dialogue is a key leadership skill for the 21st century. As sharp ideological divisions continue to polarize our communities, we need leaders who have the skills to engage people and communities who hold a variety of legal, ideological, religious and nonreligious perspectives.

We invite you to join our full-day civil dialogue training session or to schedule one with your community. The workshop will be facilitated by Rev. Kristen Farrington, civil dialogue specialist and director of the Religious Freedom Center.

Training Features

• Dialogue theory
• Learning and practicing the skills of dialogue
• Learning how to facilitate dialogue
• Learning the practical steps to setting up dialogue sessions in your community.

The registration cost is $50 per person for these training sessions. Seats are limited. Registration is required. For more information, please contact Blair Forlaw at bforlaw@newseum.org.

Registration due date is July 15, 2019.

Religious Liberty, Religious Literacy & Civil Dialogue

This three-session intensive will give local interns the opportunity to learn about the role of religion in public life while exploring our three areas of competency: religious liberty, religious literacy, and civil dialogue. We will host the interns on three Fridays during the month of July. Participants will be introduced to experts who are actively engaged in addressing these issues in their local and national context.

The registration period is now – June 30, 2019. The registration cost is $40 per person which covers all three training sessions. For questions, please contact Dr. Sabrina Dent, director of programs and partnerships, at sdent@newseum.org.

These workshops have been cancelled.

Schedule

8:15 a.m. – 9 a.m.

Registration/Check-in

9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Workshop: Religious Literacy Workshop Aims to Understand Growing Diversity

We are now a nation of religious minorities: according to a major study conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, no one sect or denomination accounts for more than 50 percent of the population. At the same time, FBI data indicates that growing religious diversity has been accompanied by an increase in religion-related hate crimes. Religious education can enhance recognition of the fundamental rights of people of all religions and none.

Join us for an interactive religious literacy workshop to gain essential knowledge and skills that promote understanding of increasingly religiously diverse communities. We will apply these essentials to real-world case studies on religion and race, immigration and sexuality. Recent cases such as arson attacks on three African-American churches in Louisiana and a California mosque will be part of the conversation.

Facilitated by Benjamin P. Marcus

12 – 1 p.m.

Lunch Break (on your own)

1 – 4 p.m.

Workshop: “Civil Dialogue: Antidote to the Zero Sum Game”

Our country is more polarized than ever around significant issues that impact the everyday lives of Americans. A pluralistic democracy depends on a marketplace of ideas, but in our current highly charged climate many Americans find themselves fostering a binary view of the world – us vs. them. The complexity of the issues facing our nation require leaders to be able to engage with people who are different from themselves and have the skills to find common ground with those they fundamentally disagree.

To be effective leaders we need to become civil dialogue practitioners, who can help our communities effectively navigate deep differences. This workshop will focus on the difference between dialogue and other kinds of engagement, the essential skills of dialogue, how to create an environment that promotes civil dialogue, and tips for turning down the ‘heat’ when dialogue gets tough.

Facilitated by Kristen Farrington

The registration cost is $50 per person for these workshops. Seats are limited. Registration is required. For more information, please contact Blair Forlaw at bforlaw@newseum.org