FEDERALhearing transcript

Briefing on Faith in the Public Square

Original title: Beyond Tolerance: Faith in the Public Square

January 1, 2017

religious freedom human rights public policy international relations OSCE

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The Frame

What this does

This briefing provides official U.S. government context on how the Helsinki Commission monitors international religious freedom commitments and discusses the integration of faith into public discourse.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Religious communities

The briefing discusses the role and protection of faith groups within the public square.

U.S. Congress

The Commission provides information and policy recommendations to Congress regarding OSCE commitments.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2017.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is a transcript of a 2018 Helsinki Commission briefing regarding the role of religious faith in public life. The discussion explores religious freedom as a public good and addresses the context of faith communities in the United States and abroad.

Key Facts

The briefing took place on October 29, 2018, in the Russell Senate Office Building.
The Helsinki Commission is a U.S. government agency created in 1976 to monitor compliance with OSCE commitments.
The Commission consists of 18 members from the U.S. Congress and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) includes 56 participating states.
The briefing addressed the concept of faith as a public good and the fruit of religious freedom.
The moderator acknowledged the October 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Helsinki Commission?

It is a U.S. government agency that monitors and encourages compliance with commitments, with a focus on human rights.

What was the purpose of this briefing?

To discuss the role of faith in the public square and religious freedom as a public good.

Why It Matters

News Coverage

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

temporal pattern100% confidence

Briefing timing

The briefing occurred only two days after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, which was explicitly addressed by the moderator.

Tree of Life Synagogue Nathaniel Hurd

Connected Entities

personAndrew Bennett“Director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute.”Map →

personChristopher H. Smith“U.S. Congressman and Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission.”Map →

personEric Treene“Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination at the U.S. Department of Justice.”Map →

locationTree of Life Synagogue“Site of a 2018 shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, referenced during the brief”Map →

personSophie van Bijsterveld“Senator in the Dutch Parliament.”Map →

personNathaniel Hurd“Senior Policy Advisor at the Helsinki Commission and moderator of the briefing.”Map →

personRoger Wicker“U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Helsinki Commission.”Map →

organizationCommission on Security and Cooperation in Europe“Also known as the Helsinki Commission; a U.S. government agency monitoring OSCE ”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level

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