March 7, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Lift Every Voice: a Report on Religion in American Public Life explores religious matters that have gained relevance in light of the last year’s events, including the debate over stem-cell research and the September 11 attacks. The report begins by examining the tradition of religious and public interaction, from the interplay of religion and politics that influenced the concept of manifest destiny to Jimmy Carter’s comments during the 1976 presidential campaign about being “born again,” to shed light on the present. It then highlights issues that drove policy debates and grabbed headlines in 2001: the establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the death penalty, and a rise in the number of those attending worship services in the weeks following the September 11 attacks. The report concludes with commentary on the current state of religion in public life from the co-chairs of the Pew Forum, E.J. Dionne Jr. and Jean Bethke Elshtain.
