Erin Brigham, University of San Francisco, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 406.546.4818
Christine Fletcher, Benedictine University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 630.829.6263

Convinced that religion has a significant task in the public sphere, we ask how does it make itself heard? How does it communicate to an audience who does not share the basic assumptions and beliefs? How can the incommensurable debates which surround public policy be conducted not as dialogues of the deaf, but in a language that is true to the tradition but comprehensible by modernity and post-modernity?
What religious language has lost its explanatory power, and how has that affected the public voice of the churches? When much of religious language is deemed intolerant or even hate speech, how can a dialogue that respects all parties be conducted?

We are looking for papers which will address these questions, especially in the context of the coming elections. We are looking for papers which will engage with public policy issues and the translation of religious viewpoints to the mass audience.  How, for example, do we translate the insights of Catholic Social Thought, in Faithful Citizenship, to a sound bite for cable news?