Introduction

Symposium and Report Credits

After lunch, participants in the symposium again met in small groups. This time, however, they were divided into ten separate professional groups and asked to discuss the role of religion in their work. The disciplines included the arts, law, business, religion, government, media, education, health care, advertising/ public relations, and nonprofits/foundations. Some of the starter questions included: Do they intentionally keep religion out of their work? Why? What has happened when religion has come out of the shadows? How, if at all, should the role of religion in their profession change? What are the potential consequences of such a change?

Symposium participant Kevin Lynch addresses the group.

Their experiences of religion differed wildly. "Religion in the shadows?" one artist asked. "It's constantly in our face." Yet those who worked in law generally felt that "in the shadows" was an apt description of religion's place - and that it should stay that way. Each small group also was asked in the afternoon session to develop issues that Marty should concentrate on during the tenure of The Public Religion Project. These conversations made it clear that that civil, productive, enlightening, and consciousness-raising discussions about religion can and probably should be had in far more public places than occur today. What follows are two examples of the small group discussions: The Business Group and the Education Group.