Elon University will host the third annual Religion and Media Conference at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 4 in LaRose Digital Theatre in the Koury Business Center.
The 2008 U.S. Senate campaign in North Carolina featured a controversial television ad “accusing” candidate Kay Hagan of being an atheist. In 2009, the media reported extensively on Cecil Bothwell’s near removal from office as an Asheville City Councilman due to a provision in North Carolina’s Constitution ostensibly forbidding atheists from holding public office. WRAL-TV anchor David Crabtree, University of South Carolina journalism professor Cecile Holmes and Bothwell will participate in a panel moderated by Elon professor Tom Arcaro, discussing the portrayal of atheism through local and regional media and how this influences society.