Capitol Conversations

The nation’s eyes are on Congress one week away from the November 2018 elections, but the most consequential changes to public policy which affects your daily life happen on your state and local ballots. For one of those ballot initiatives, the ERLC policy team speaks to a criminal defense attorney in Louisiana leading the campaign to overturn a 138 year old law with critical implications for justice, equity, and race in America.

Ed Tarpley is an attorney in Alexandria, Louisiana, who served as District Attorney for the 35th judicial district from 1991 to 1997. In addition to his law practice and other professional commitments, Ed serves on the Board of Directors of the Cenla Pregnancy Center, is a member of the Steering Committee for the Louisiana Governor's Prayer Breakfast, and previously served on the Board of Trustees for Louisiana College. He is also the author of a resolution adopted by the Louisiana State Bar Association on June 9, 2016, calling for the legislature to restore the unanimous criminal jury verdict in Louisiana.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

How should our theology of human dignity impact our debates of public policy? Dan Darling, author of The Dignity Revolution, joins Travis, Steven, and Jeff to discuss how this rich Genesis 1 truth applies to the complex decisions Christians face in the public square.

Dan Darling is the Vice President for Communications at the ERLC. He is a writer whose work has appeared in USA Today, CNN, Washington Times, Huffington Post, and The Gospel Coalition. Dan is the host of another ERLC podcast, The Way Home, and an associate pastor at Green Hill Church in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, the ERLC policy team invites former Republican strategist Brent Leatherwood to the roundtable. Brent offers an insider’s look into the campaign trail, political polling, and the races to watch on election night. The group also offers encouragement to Christians on how to approach conversations about politics with their neighbors in a culture rife with division. We took some time off the air these past few weeks as our team was in transition, and now we’re glad to be back with you!

Prior to joining the ERLC as director of strategic partnerships, Brent Leatherwood served as the executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party, where he managed the organization’s campaign apparatus at the federal, state, and local levels. He also worked in Washington on Capitol Hill as a senior legislative aide to former Rep. Connie Mack (R–Fla.) Brent and his wife Meredith have three children and are members The Church at Avenue South, a church plant of Brentwood Baptist Church, where Brent serves as a deacon.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

Matt Hawkins, who has served faithfully at the ERLC for 17 years, announced that he is leaving the ERLC to pursue Ph.D. studies. Matt was a brilliant, winsome presence on Capitol Hill and on the airwaves of this podcast. He will be missed. The good news is he is moving to Tennessee and will be close to our Nashville office. For Matt’s final episode as host, Jeff Pickering joins him at the Leland House to reflect on memorable interviews, guests, and advocacy in Washington, D.C.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

In this summer of international religious freedom, Matt Hawkins and Travis Wussow visited the State Department to speak with Ambassador Sam Brownback then welcomed Commissioner Kristina Arriaga to the ERLC Leland House. Brownback serves as Ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom and Arriaga serves as Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The U.S. officials give an update on Pastor Andrew Brunson, the Christian detained in Turkey. The conversations come as a wrap up to the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.

Sam Brownback was sworn in as Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom on February 1, 2018. He served as Governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018, U.S. Senator from 1996-2011, and a U.S. Representative in the House of Representatives from 1995-1996 from Kansas. While a member of the Senate, he worked actively on the issue of religious freedom in multiple countries and was a key sponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

Kristina Arriaga was first appointed to the Commission on May 13, 2016 by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI). Arriaga has worked on the defense of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the United States and internationally for over 20 years as Advisor to the United States delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, an appointee to the Civil Rights Commission, and as the Executive Director of a U.S.-based public interest law firm that defends all religious traditions.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

In advance of this week’s U.S. State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the policy team discusses ERLC’s international engagement. Matt Hawkins talks with Steven Harris about his congressional testimony concerning religious liberty in Sudan. Travis Wussow and Jeff Pickering discuss their recent trip to the United Nations in Geneva. Then the team interviews Eugene Yapp, a human rights and religious freedom lawyer in Malaysia. Eugene elaborates on the cultural, political, and religious liberty landscape in Malaysia and how the American church can pray for their fellow believers in Southeast Asia. Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom:

Congressional testimony:

Malaysia:

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

Matt Hawkins and Travis Wussow welcome former Canadian Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett. Their wide-ranging conversation includes religious freedom in the context of diplomacy, Bennett’s current projects with Cardus (the only faith-based think tank in Canada), and the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington. Bennett also services as a deacon in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and he provides Matt (a Baptist) with some insight into that tradition.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

Gary Marx of the Judicial Crisis Network and Madison Strategies joins Matt Hawkins and Jeff Pickering to discuss President Trump’s recent nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in

Bruce Ashford joins Matt Hawkins to discuss his new book, Letters to an American Christian.

Guest bio

Bruce Riley Ashford is Provost, Dean of Faculty, and Professor of Theology & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a regular contributor for Fox News Opinion and the Gospel Coalition and has also been featured on National Public Radio, USA Today, and the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal. He is the author or co-author of five books.

Staff from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom sit down with ERLC policy director Matt Hawkins to discuss their work and the most recent annual report from the Commission. Dwight Bashir serves as Director of Research and Policy; Elizabeth Cassidy serves as Director of International Law and Policy at the Commission.

Guest bios

Dwight Bashir is Director of Research and Policy at the Commission. For more than 20 years, he has worked in the areas of international human rights, freedom of religion or belief, and conflict resolution. While at USCIRF, Mr. Bashir has led or participated in numerous fact-finding missions internationally and has traveled widely throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Mr. Bashir has been interviewed and his articles featured in major media outlets, blogs, and academic journals, including BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, PBS NewsHour, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, the Yale Journal of International Affairs, and the Cairo Review of Global Affairs, among others, and he lectures in the United States and globally on various topics in international affairs, including countering violent extremism, ethnic and sectarian conflict, and global peace and security. Mr. Bashir pursued his Bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations at the University of Richmond and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in international conflict analysis and resolution at George Mason University.

Elizabeth K. Cassidy is Director of International Law and Policy at the Commission. She manages USCIRF’s annual report process, supervises policy and research staff, and is responsible for a substantive portfolio that includes United Nations issues, international and comparative law issues, and U.S. refugee and asylum policy. Ms. Cassidy has taught courses at the University of Namibia, Princeton University, and Seton Hall University School of Law, and conducted training sessions for U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security officials. She has authored and co-authored several book chapters and numerous journal and online articles, including in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, OnFaith, and Opinio Juris. In 2014-2015, she served on the U.S. State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group. She holds a B.A. in international politics from Wesleyan University, a J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law, and a LL.M in comparative constitutional law from the University of Stellenbosch.

iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Tune in