Description

Building on an initiative supported by the Luce/ACLS program in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs, Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict proposes a project that will seek to reinvigorate theology as a civic resource for examining truth claims and to sharpen the capacity of scholars and journalists to speak publicly about truth. Working closely with the University’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, and with its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Center will establish an interdisciplinary collaboratory, a collaborative space in which scholars and journalists can deliberate together, and jointly create new platforms for thinking and communicating about the pursuit, meaning, discovery, and recovery of truth. The project will aim to cultivate new and renewed understandings of the relationship between truth and democracy, and to expand understanding of how religious actors, ideas, and institutions contribute to—or undermine—democratic culture in a “post-truth era.” It will attend, in particular, to the resources of theology for thinking deeply, analyzing critically, and reflecting ethically on the project of truth-seeking.
The project will encompass a range of activities—including seminars, workshops, speaker series, and visiting fellows—drawing from the methods of theology, ethics, journalism and religious studies to engage a new public conversation about truth. A three-year faculty seminar, consisting of fellows from journalism, religious studies, and related disciplines as well as working journalists, will anchor the project and create the structure for sustained discussions from empirical and normative perspectives. A two-year postdoctoral fellow from religious studies/theology will play a key role in the project, participating in the faculty seminar and taking part in other project events. Annual training workshops, led by professional journalists and facilitators, will help project participants, including graduate students, develop their public voice, write for public audiences, and place their work in public-facing outlets. 
In addition to the training workshops, the project will advance and support multiple forms of scholarly publication and public engagement, including articles for academic journals and mainstream media outlets, a series of podcasts and short videos, and other forms of web publication. Near the project’s end, and drawing broadly on its deliberations and activities, project co-directors Tracy Fessenden and John Carlson will jointly author a longform essay suitable for publication as a trade paperback, exploring a range of theological resources for recovering truth. As the co-directors write in their proposal, the project “aims to reintroduce theology—as method, vehicle, provocation—into public conversation. Theology, we contend, can help us achieve a more nuanced and supple vocabulary for dealing with realities that are not simple facts. Our project aims to draw on the resources of theology to enrich our discussions and to enrich democratic life.” 
The Luce Foundation’s grant would provide partial support for the project’s co-directors and other team leaders, for the two-year postdoctoral fellowship, and for a part-time project coordinator. Grant funds would also support a wide range of events, including support for leaders of workshops on writing for public audiences, and honoraria and travel costs for visiting speakers. Small stipends will be given to participants in the faculty seminar, and to visiting journalism and theology fellows, and small grants will support graduate student participation in the project. Luce funds will also be used to cover the cost of video and podcast production.