I attended the Inaugural Public Theology and Public Policy Conference in New Haven, CT on April 7-9, 2024. The guiding question for the conference was “What are the moral and spiritual issues of the 2024 Presidential Election?”
The conference opened on Sunday evening with a worship service at United Church on the Green in New Haven, CT. Rev. Barber’s sermon was inspiring. His refrain throughout the sermon was, “heavyweight challenges require more than lightweight theology.”
He quoted from the writing of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. regarding just and unjust laws. Civil disobedience is guided by encouraging people to disobey morally wrong laws.
I furiously took notes while Rev. Barber was preaching, but there were a few times when I wasn’t sure if he was quoting someone else or speaking from his own reading and reflection.
Bishop Barber shared a powerful quote from Jurgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope:
“That is why faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but in itself this unquiet heart in man. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world…”
Barber also quoted from Frederick Douglass, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Mother Jones. He drew on the work of the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, Amos and Jeremiah.
One of the most powerful lines from his sermon was when he compelled politicians to stop using religion as a cover for their actions, “opening Congress with prayer, but then passing policies that make people ‘prey.’”
Rev. Barber urged those of us in the pews to remember that “justice, faith, and mercy are NOT committees.” And reminded us that Jesus was a public theologian. Jesus paid attention to those on the margins.
Again Rev. Barber reiterated his refrain, “lightweight theology cannot help the church address these heavyweight challenges, cannot help the church make the public witness she needs.”
Overall, the worship service was energizing and set a great tone for the conference!
I returned the next morning eager to hear from the amazing panels on the schedule. The schedule was fairly simple. Many of the speakers could have been featured keynotes at another conference, but Rev. Barber had assembled panels. The first few panels he guided the conversation. Later in the day, two of his colleagues took over in moderating the panels.
The opening panel was titled, “The Role of Public Theology: What it should be, what’s happened, and what’s at stake in a Presidential year.” Each panelist was given about ten minutes to speak directly on the topic. I appreciated that the panelists were not directly responding to each other and instead were able to focus on their specific expertise.
The first panel began with comments from two Biblical Scholars: Dr. Gregory Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School and Dr. Rodney Sadler, Associate Professor at Union Seminary. I was inspired by the Scripture cited by Dr. Sadler. He quoted from Psalm 24:1 “The world is YHWH’s and all that is in it…” and he also mentioned Jeremiah 22. There was discussion about how Prophets spoke the truth, they told the Old Testament King what the damage would be if they didn’t listen and offered them a way out.
The two other people on this opening panel were Dr. Phil Gorski and Dr. Anthea Butler. Dr. Gorski is a Professor of Sociology at Yale University and Dr. Butler is a Professor in American Social Thought at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gorski talked a little bit about the history of Christian Nationalism and mentioned that the history goes way beyond our current political moment. He commented that Christian Nationalism goes back more than 300 years and is tied into the founding of the United States.
As the first panel concluded, Rev. Barber asked the panelists a question which was asked of each panel throughout the conference. He described a hypothetical situation where the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy was asked to moderate a panel between the candidates for President of the United States of America. Panelists were asked to share what one question they would ask of the candidates.
From the first panel, some of the suggested questions were: “Where do you stand towards the ‘least of these’? Who is human? Could you unpack three of your proposed policies and explain how they establish justice?” One of the panelists asked the question that has stayed at the top of my mind in the days after the conference, “What is your moral compass?”
I think that the second panel was my favorite of the whole conference! The topic was, “What’s at Stake in 2024? Understanding our Political Context and the Potential Power of our Communities.”
The first two speakers on the second panel were both powerhouse women whose books are now at the top of my “want to read” list. Dr. Nancy MacLean, Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University and Anne Nelson, Lecturer at Columbia University, were an incredible team to open the second panel. Each woman prepared poignant remarks and it really inspired me. Dr. Nancy MacLean is the author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America. Anne Nelson is the author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right.
Anne Nelson opened the panel and warned the audience about a publication called “Project 2025” developed by the Heritage Foundation. She shared her concerns about the publication and encouraged the audience to inform themselves.
While I took many notes throughout the conference, as I read through them a few days later, most of them weren’t coherent enough to type up and share here. I know that Rev. Barber’s team was videorecording the conference and mentioned they would be figuring out ways to distribute the content. If you are curious about the topics, I would highly recommend watching recordings, even if there is a fee to access them. There were so many brilliant people gathered in one room and the information that was shared was incredibly valuable.
These notes are just a glimpse into the take-aways I have from the Conference. There was so much information packed into a few short days. One of the unique things about the gathering was a spoken word poet who shared live poems each day. The poems she presented were thought provoking and I enjoyed the art form of the spoken word poetry. One of the panelists mentioned Langston Hughes’ poem, “Let America Be America Again,” and Rev. Barber read several lines from the poem in a call and response to conclude the first day of the conference.
At the conference opening, Rev. Barber proclaimed that this was the Inaugural conference and they plan to offer this gathering again, at least every four years, or possibly again in two years. I look forward to more thought provoking speakers and leaders gathering in the future!
Laura Kisthardt 