Articles

Religion's Role in Public Life is Timely Issue for Atlanta Regional American Assembly

Opinion by Doug Gatlin
Faith And The City
April 2, 2002

When more than 60 leaders--representing various faith traditions and civic, government, education, and other organizations--convened in February 2002 for the Atlanta Regional American Assembly, their task was to identify common values that members of our multicounty community share about the role of religion in public life. The Assembly was also charged with identifying action steps that help individuals, groups, and organizations live out such shared values and with determining how to encourage ongoing cooperation within the region's increasingly pluralistic community of faith.

The meeting, conducted at Callaway Gardens, is one of several regional gatherings modeled after the Ninety-Sixth American Assembly convened in March 2000 to address the role of religion in the public life of the nation. As part of the American Assembly series, "Uniting America: Toward Common Purpose," that session produced a final report, "Matters of Faith: Religion in Public Life." The gathering at Callaway examined similar issues, but with a focus on Atlanta and the surrounding counties, which together constitute a regional community.

The Atlanta Regional American Assembly, the fruition of plans initiated last summer, was timely for several reasons. First, it contributed to the reassessment of the vital role of faith and religion in American public life that has been underway for years. Second, the increasing cultural plurality of the Atlanta region presses us to consider ways in which we can live and work together as members of many groups but one community. Finally, the events of September 11 have thrust religion to the forefront of public awareness in communities across our land and around the world.

The renewed interest in the role of faith and religion in contemporary American public life recalls the historic and necessary tension inherent in the constitutional separation between church and state. According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly eight in 10 Americans support that separation and rightly so. We must vigilantly guard our constitutional rights. Yet, too often we shy away from recognizing that there is an inevitable link between faith and politics, which is distinct from the separation between church and state. Because the vast majority of us rely on faith as a moral compass, religion must inform most Americans' participation in the public life of our democratic society. Consider some additional findings of the poll cited above. The overwhelming majority of Americans, 95 percent, believe in God or a higher power, and 80 percent are dissatisfied with standards of honesty and moral behavior in this country. At least two of every three agreed that religion can answer all or most of today's problems--and that church and religious leaders are the greatest hope against further moral failure for the nation.

The second reason that the Atlanta Regional American Assembly was timely involves the increasing plurality of the Atlanta regional community. According to recent reports by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, more than 10 percent of metro Atlanta residents were born abroad, a figure that increased by 82 percent from 1990 to 2000. During roughly the same period, the metro area's Asian and Latino populations grew by 135 and 300 percent, respectively. Other reports indicate that diversity is burgeoning in the region's faith community, as well. While North Georgia includes an estimated 2.1 million Christians, it is home also to 100,000 Jews and 50,000 Muslims, along with Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Baha'is, and members of other faith traditions. Clearly, the Atlanta region, noted worldwide for its pacesetting progress in race relations between black and white Americans, now has an extraordinary opportunity to continue that legacy by embracing the expanding plurality of the cultures and faith traditions of its citizens today.

Finally, the Atlanta Regional American Assembly was a timely response to tensions generated by the September 11 terrorist attacks on our nation. By living, learning, and working together as neighbors--determined to bridge the separations created by our ignorance of one another's ethnicity, culture, and faith--we can avoid the violent conflict that a handful of international outlaws seeks to foster among people of different beliefs.

Faith And The City, the organization that I serve, is delighted to join the range of individuals and organizations that have planned and supported the Atlanta Regional Assembly. Faith And The City was founded in 1999 and is co-chaired today by former U.S. Ambassadors James T. Laney and Andrew Young. The organization encourages a sense of community throughout the 20-county Atlanta metro region, seeks to elevate the moral dimension in critical issues, and invites people of all faiths to engage in public dialogue. We are assisting our partner institutions--Candler School of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Interdenominational Theological Center--in their commitment to expanding development of public religious leadership. Our newsletter, web site, and periodic forums encourage people of faith to become more involved in discussions of public issues and the democratic practices that contribute to our regional and national vitality. One of our programs this year is to host an ongoing Multi-Faith Dialogue on Community that will include representatives from the various faith traditions and from civic, government, business, education, and other organizations. This broad-based group will develop a vision for an ideal regional community and periodically assess the metro area's progress toward realizing that ideal.

Faith And The City will continue to collaborate with other organizations and individuals to carry on the work of the Atlanta Regional American Assembly, following this week's session. As a multifaith, multicultural, and interdisciplinary effort, the Assembly carries on the Atlanta region's long tradition of seeking social justice, civil rights, and human rights for all people.

Doug Gatlin, executive director of Faith And The City, served on the advisory board of the Atlanta Regional American Assembly. For more information, visit:

> Atlanta Regional American Assembly Final Report
> Atlanta Journal-Constitution Article on Assembly
> American Assembly Website:
http://www.americanassembly.org
> FATC Newsletter on Faith and Politics
> FATC Faith and Politics Issues Section