Religious Advocates: A Force in US Politics?

The 2007 Berkley Center Undergraduate Fellows Report entitled “Religious Advocates: A Force in US Politics?” was launched Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at the Berkley Center. The launch included discussion of the report from Prof. Jonathan Ladd and Prof. Clyde Wilcox of the Department of Government at Georgetown University as well as Prof. Mark Rozell, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. The event was moderated by project leaders and co-authors Jenna Cossman (COL ’09) and Todd Wintner (SFS ’08). The 2007 Undergraduate Fellows Program gave a select group of ten Georgetown undergraduates the resources to study the role of religious advocacy groups in United States politics. Under the direction of Professor Clyde Wilcox of the Department of Government, the Fellows spent the 2007 academic year defining their research agenda, collecting data on key issues relevant to the field of religious advocacy, and interviewing over 40 prominent religious advocacy organizations around the country.

This is the second annual Berkley Center Undergraduate Fellows report. In 2006, the Fellows studied the role of religious and secular organizations in development policy and released a report with their findings entitled "Secular & Religious Approaches to Global Development: A Common Ground?" The 2008 Undergraduate Fellows Program was led by Prof. Chester Gillis of the Department of Theology and studied the impact of interreligious marriage.