Gustav Niebuhr - Gustav Niebuhr is an associate professor of Religion and the Media, director of the Religion and Society Program, director of the Carnegie Religion and Media Minor, and co-director of the Luce Project in Religion, Media, and International Relations at Syracuse University.
Over a twenty-year career in journalism, most recently at the New York Times and, prior to that, at the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlanta Journal/Constitution, Gustav Niebuhr has established a reputation as a leading writer about American religion. He is a frequent guest blogger on the Washington Post's "On Faith" column, and he also does occasional commentaries on religion for the National Public Radio program "All Things Considered."
His most recent book, Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America, will be published in August.
Michael Pappas - Michael Pappas was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He graduated from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) in 1983, after which he successively worked as a lobbyist, Regional Field Director for a presidential campaign and investment banker for the oldest municipal bond firm in New Jersey. In 1987, he left the world of politics & finance and enrolled at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, attaining an M.Div. with honors in the class of 1992. An ordained priest of the Greek Orthodox Church, Michael served parishes in Palos Hills, IL, Stockton, CA and San Francisco, CA. During his sixteen-year ministry, he was a prolific writer, contributing articles to numerous religious and secular periodicals. As well, he devoted energy to work with the homeless and furthering ecumenical/interfaith relationships. After stepping down from active ministry in 2007, he was selected by the San Francisco Interfaith Council to the newly created administrative position of Executive Director. Michael is the father of two sons, George and Paul, and one daughter, Julia.
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Gustav Niebuhr, one of the nation's leading journalists covering religion, for a special Friday night Forum discussion of his new book, Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America, moderated by Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council.
Niebuhr has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and New York Times, and today is associate professor of Religion and the Media at Syracuse University. He holds a dual professorship with Syracuse’s Department of Religion and its Newspaper Journalism program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications- Grace Cathedral