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November 10, 2020

Faith and the Faithful in the 2020 Election: What Happened? Why? What Now?

Showing the Faith and the Faithful in the 2020 Election: What Happened? Why? What Now? Video

A week after the United States’ election day, this online Georgetown dialogue brought together respected reporters on faith and politics to examine how religious values, voters, and communities shaped the debate and affected the outcome of the election. They looked back at what issues, strategies, and tactics were used by the Trump and Biden campaigns and how effective they were.

This conversation also looked ahead to whether and how the nation can come together after the election, and the roles of religious believers and communities in defending human life and dignity, lifting up “the least of these,” protecting our democracy, and pursuing the common good in a bitterly divided nation.

John Carr, director of the Initiative, moderated the dialogue.

Resources

View a list of articles, videos, and other resources for this dialogue.

This Public Dialogue was part of the Initiative’s Faith and the Faithful series. It was co-sponsored by  Bread for the World and was supported by the Democracy Fund.

Participants

Elizabeth Dias

Elizabeth Dias

Elizabeth Dias is a national correspondent for the New York Times covering faith, values, and the 2020 elections. With degrees from Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the 2016 recipient of the Hunt Prize for Excellence in Journalism, Arts, and Letters from America.

Elana Schor

Elana Schor

Elana Schor is a national reporter on religion and politics for the Associated Press. She is a former reporter for POLITICO, The Hill, The Guardian, and Greenwire where she covered issues from climate change to criminal justice reform.

Mark Shields

Mark Shields

Mark Shields is a weekly political commentator for the PBS NewsHour and syndicated political columnist. A graduate of Notre Dame and a former U.S. Marine, he has covered the last 12 presidential campaigns.

Christopher White

Christopher White

Christopher White is the national correspondent for National Catholic Reporter where he has covered the Catholic dimensions of the 2020 campaign. He is a former reporter for Crux and The Tablet newspaper of the diocese of Brooklyn.