The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) has concluded its highly successful annual meeting, held from April 4-7, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky.
With the theme “Harnessing Our Collective Power,” the event brought together professionals and practitioners from diverse faith traditions and communication disciplines to explore innovative approaches to religious communication in the digital age.The conference featured an impressive lineup of speakers and engaging workshops, providing attendees with valuable insights and practical strategies to enhance their communication efforts. Among the distinguished speakers were:
- Jud Hendrix with Louisville Interfaith Paths to Peace, covering “The Radical Catalyst of Faith – Inspiring Faith to Action”
- Adam Graber with Faith Tech presenting “Communications After Artificial Intelligence”
- Allison Norton of the Hartford Seminary speaking on “Faith Communities Today”
- Angela Redding of the Radiant Foundation sharing “Communicating Faith in a Faithless World”
- Laura Buchanan, with United Methodist Communications, on “AI and content creation: shortcuts that boost productivity”
In addition to the keynote presentations, attendees had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of workshops and panel discussions led by industry experts. Workshop topics included:
- An interfaith panel on “Talking About Democracy Through a Faith Lens: Election Year Edition” with panelists Chris Crawford with Protect Democracy, Lauren Reliford with Sojourners and Coco Xu with More in Common US
- a discussion by Braver Angels representatives Steve Clements and Eugene Rutz
- Jenna Ahern and Ryan Quinn with Guardian Owl Digital sharing on “Social Media and the Spread of Disinformation”
- “Spiritual Seekers” presented by Ryan Dunn with United Methodist Communications
- panel on “Earth Stewardship – reaching beyond your traditions for a common cause” with panelists Kyle Kramer, with the Earth and Spirit Center; Sr. Carol Curtis, an Ursuline Sister of Louisville; and Jessica Maudlin, with PCUSA
These sessions provided practical tools and insights for religious communicators to engage with diverse audiences and effectively convey their messages in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape.
The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of two awards celebrations: The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards, which honors RCC members for their outstanding contributions to journalism, public relations, marketing, and digital media in service of faith communities; and the Wilbur Awards, which recognize excellence work by secular (non-religious) media in promoting faith-focuses themes and values.