Elon University will host a one-day conference on Monday, March 9, that blends religion, film, politics, popular culture and the news business. Speakers from across the country will be on campus to discuss, as the title of the conference states, "Faith, Doubt, & The Media."
Deadline for registration is Monday, March 2. Registration cost is $50, and covers lunch, dinner and all speaker sessions.
Keynote speaker Leonard Pitts, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, will cap the daylong events with a speech in McCrary Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Pitts has called his address, “Finding God in the Low Post or, Surviving Journalism With Faith.” Pitts is also the author of a new compendium of his columns, Forward From this Moment: Selected Columns, 1994-2008.
At noon, former Los Angeles Times religion writer William Lobdell will provide a counterpoint to Pitts with his discussion of his new book, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – and Found Unexpected Peace. Lobdell’s faith was sorely tested when he reported on the Catholic Church pedophilia scandal.
Book signings will follow both events.
Other speakers include:
- Yonat Shimron, religion writer for the Raleigh, NC News & Observer, who disagreed with her newspaper’s decision to distribute the DVD, “Obsession,” as paid advertising. The documentary has been criticized for its depiction of Islam.
- Brett Younger, Associate Professor of Preaching at Mercer University School of Theology.
- Jason Byassee, director of the Center for Theology, Writing and Media at Duke Divinity School, and contributing editor to The Christian Century.
The conference is open to journalists, educators, and the general public. Conference sponsors are the Elon School of Communications, the Truitt Center for Religious & Spiritual Life, and the Elon Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. To register for the conference, email Pamela Baker at bakerp@elon.edu, or call 336-278-5724.