Faith and Politics Institute

The Faith and Politics Institute is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1991 to help public officials connect political work with conscience, compassion, courage, and a broader sense of human responsibility. Rather than functioning as a policy advocacy organization or partisan political group, the institute creates structured settings in which members of Congress, congressional staff, and other national leaders can reflect on the moral dimensions of public service and engage across racial, religious, ideological, and party divisions. Its principal activities include recurring reflection groups, leadership retreats, public forums, and experiential pilgrimages. Reflection groups and retreats are designed for people working in the highly pressured environment of Washington and encourage participants to consider their public roles in relation to personal values and a sense of vocation. Public forums bring political leaders together with religious figures, scholars, writers, and civic voices whose lives or work illustrate moral courage. The institute has hosted or featured figures including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Bryan Stevenson, Sam Quinones, Arthur C. Brooks, and john a. powell. The organization is particularly associated with its annual civil-rights pilgrimage to Alabama. These trips commonly connect Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma and use historic sites, testimony, art, architecture, music, and encounters with local history to examine the legacy of slavery, segregation, voting-rights struggles, and racial violence. A signature element has been the crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Former Representative John Lewis, a central figure in the civil-rights movement and a longtime participant in the institute's work, played an especially visible role in these programs. The pilgrimage model treats historical memory as a resource for present-day leadership, reconciliation, and democratic responsibility. The institute grew from an early reflection group involving Representative Glenn Poshard, Anne Bartley, Rev. Joe Eldridge, and Rev. Doug Tanner. Tanner founded the organization with the aim of creating meaningful interactions and experiences for people who lead and serve the nation. In the mid-1990s, its Common Ground work also connected congressional participants and staff with efforts to rebuild churches damaged by arson. In 1997, Representative Amo Houghton and Representative John Lewis became co-chairs of the board, helping broaden the institute's relationships with lawmakers from both major parties and strengthening its profile as a bridge-building organization. Additional initiatives have included the Lewis-Houghton Leadership Awards, the Saint Joseph's Day Breakfast, a biennial Congressional Reception, and programs focused on race, religious freedom, economic morality, and the experiences of Muslim Americans. In 2003, the institute helped conceptualize, plan, and coordinate a congressional delegation to South Africa led by Houghton and Lewis, creating an opportunity to compare the American civil-rights movement with South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle. It has also partnered with organizations including the Fetzer Institute, Search for Common Ground, the Sewall-Belmont House, the National Park Service, GLAAD, the District of Columbia, the Newseum's Religious Freedom Education Project, and Wesley Theological Seminary. The institute reports that more than 300 members of Congress have participated in its efforts since its founding. Its work remains centered on nonpartisan relationship-building, ethical reflection, historical education, and the cultivation of what it describes as healing, civility, respect, and visionary leadership. Robert Traynham serves as President and CEO.

The Faith and Politics Institute was founded in 1991 in Washington, D.C., after an early reflection group brought together Representative Glenn Poshard, Anne Bartley, Rev. Joe Eldridge, and Rev. Doug Tanner. The participants concluded that elected officials and other public servants needed settings where they could step outside the immediate pressures of political work and consider the spiritual, ethical, and human implications of leadership. Tanner subsequently established the institute with the goal of creating meaningful interactions and experiences among people who lead and serve the United States. From the beginning, the institute distinguished itself from conventional advocacy organizations. Its stated approach was nonpartisan and experiential: instead of concentrating primarily on legislation or electoral politics, it used reflection, dialogue, service, historical travel, and public conversation to encourage conscience, courage, compassion, and cooperation. Its programs sought to bring Democrats and Republicans, people of different faiths, and leaders from different racial and ideological backgrounds into sustained relationships. One early strand of activity was the Common Ground program. During the mid-1990s, the program offered congressional members and staff opportunities to assist communities rebuilding churches that had been destroyed or damaged by arson. This work gave participants a practical setting for service while addressing religious intolerance and racial division. It also reflected the institute's broader belief that shared activity and personal encounter can help repair relationships more effectively than abstract debate alone. A major expansion took place in 1997, when then-President Rev. Doug Tanner persuaded Representatives Amo Houghton and John Lewis to become co-chairs of the board of directors. Houghton, a Republican, and Lewis, a Democrat and former civil-rights organizer, embodied the cross-party and historical perspective the institute wanted to cultivate. Their involvement attracted additional lawmakers and national political figures and helped establish the organization as a spiritual and civic community for people seeking a more humane way to conduct public business. The institute developed three central program areas: reflection groups and retreats, public forums, and pilgrimages. Reflection groups gave congressional participants recurring opportunities to discuss vocation, moral responsibility, and the relationship between personal convictions and public decisions. Retreats provided longer periods for contemplation and relationship-building. Public forums brought prominent religious leaders, scholars, authors, and civic thinkers into conversation with political audiences. Speakers associated with these events have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, Bryan Stevenson, Sam Quinones, Arthur C. Brooks, and john a. powell. The pilgrimage program became the institute's most recognizable public activity. Its annual civil-rights pilgrimage to Alabama has taken members of both houses of Congress, staff members, and invited guests to Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. Participants study the history of slavery, segregation, disenfranchisement, civil-rights activism, and racial violence, while also reflecting on the obligations of contemporary leadership. Walking across Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, often in connection with John Lewis, has been a defining ritual. Later itineraries incorporated the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, using art, architecture, story, and song to deepen historical understanding. The institute also created and supported complementary programs. The Lewis-Houghton Leadership Awards recognize public servants or other leaders associated with conscience, courage, and compassion. The Saint Joseph's Day Breakfast addresses moral and spiritual questions surrounding economic life and includes speakers and awards. A biennial Congressional Reception recognizes supporters and participants. The institute has partnered with the Fetzer Institute on broader programming and with organizations such as Search for Common Ground, the Sewall-Belmont House, the National Park Service, GLAAD, the District of Columbia, the Newseum's Religious Freedom Education Project, and Wesley Theological Seminary on focused events. In May 2003, the organization helped conceptualize, plan, and coordinate a congressional delegation to South Africa led by Houghton and Lewis. The visit compared the United States civil-rights movement with South Africa's struggle against apartheid and created a basis for continuing dialogue. Other programs examined race and reconciliation, religious freedom, Muslim-American identity, and the lives of civil-rights and equality advocates buried in Congressional Cemetery. The institute's public profile has also been shaped by John Lewis's long association with its work. His participation gave the Alabama pilgrimage a direct connection to the movement's history and to the moral language of democratic citizenship. After Lewis's death, the institute's programs continued to draw on the history and leadership ideals with which he was associated. The organization states that more than 300 members of Congress have participated in its activities since 1991. Robert Traynham is identified as President and CEO, and the institute continues to present itself as a nonpartisan platform for ethical reflection, historical learning, healing, civility, respect, and collaborative leadership.

• 2015

  50th-anniversary Bloody Sunday pilgrimage

  [1]Faith and Politics Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  Approximately 90 lawmakers participated in a three-day Alabama pilgrimage connected with the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

• 2003

  South Africa congressional delegation

  [1]Faith and Politics Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The institute planned and coordinated a congressional visit to South Africa comparing the American civil-rights movement with the anti-apartheid struggle.

• 1997

  Amo Houghton and John Lewis became board co-chairs

  [1]Faith and Politics Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The two representatives brought Republican and Democratic leadership together and helped broaden congressional participation in the institute.

• 1991

  Institute founded

  [1]Faith and Politics Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  Rev. Doug Tanner founded the Faith and Politics Institute after an initial reflection group identified a need for meaningful, cross-party opportunities for political leaders to examine public service through ethical and spiritual lenses.

A nonpartisan civic and leadership-development nonprofit positioned at the intersection of faith, public service, civil-rights history, ethical reflection, and bipartisan relationship-building.

• Experiential leadership program

  Civil Rights Pilgrimage

  The institute's signature pilgrimage takes members of Congress, congressional staff, and invited guests through important civil-rights sites in Alabama, typically including Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. The program combines historical instruction, testimony, cultural interpretation, prayer or reflection, and visits to sites such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Legacy Museum, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Its purpose is to connect the history of racial injustice and democratic struggle with present responsibilities in public leadership.

• Leadership development · 1991

  Reflection Groups and Retreats

  Recurring reflection groups and occasional retreats provide members of Congress, staff, and other political leaders with structured opportunities to consider vocation, conscience, moral responsibility, and the human consequences of public decisions. The format is intended to create trust across party and ideological lines and to offer a counterpoint to the speed and conflict of Washington political life.

• Civic education and dialogue

  Public Forums

  Public forums convene political participants with religious leaders, scholars, authors, and civic thinkers whose work addresses moral courage, race, faith, democracy, and public responsibility. Past speakers associated with the institute include Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, Bryan Stevenson, Sam Quinones, Arthur C. Brooks, and john a. powell.

• Awards program

  Lewis-Houghton Leadership Awards

  The awards recognize leaders who demonstrate conscience, courage, and compassion in public service or related civic work. The program is named for former board co-chairs John Lewis and Amo Houghton, whose partnership represented the institute's bipartisan and bridge-building orientation.

• 2003United States-South Africa Faith and Politics Initiative

  United States · South Africa

  The institute conceptualized and coordinated a congressional delegation to South Africa led by Representatives Amo Houghton and John Lewis, with a focus on comparing American civil-rights history and the struggle against apartheid.

  Outcome. The visit established links for further dialogue about faith, political leadership, racial justice, and democratic transition.

  Source
• Common Ground

  United States

  An early initiative connected congressional members and staff with efforts to rebuild churches damaged by arson, using shared service to address religious and racial division.

  Outcome. The program provided an applied setting for cross-community cooperation and helped establish the institute's service-oriented approach.

  Source
• Annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama

  United States

  A recurring bipartisan journey through Alabama civil-rights sites uses historical learning, reflection, and direct engagement with movement memory to encourage more responsible public leadership.

  Outcome. The program became the institute's best-known offering and has involved members of both houses of Congress, staff, and special guests.

  Source

• 2003

  Use international comparison to extend civil-rights leadership workStrategy

  Background

  The institute wanted to connect lessons from the United States civil-rights movement with another major struggle against racial domination.

  Action taken

  It planned and coordinated a congressional delegation to South Africa focused on the relationship between American civil-rights history and the anti-apartheid movement.

  Aftermath

  The trip created a platform for continuing dialogue between U.S. political leaders and South African perspectives.

  Source

• 1997

  Expand congressional bridge-building through bipartisan board leadershipStrategy

  Background

  The institute sought to broaden participation and make cross-party dialogue a more visible part of its work.

  Action taken

  It appointed Representative Amo Houghton and Representative John Lewis as co-chairs of the board of directors.

  Aftermath

  Their involvement attracted additional congressional participants and strengthened the institute's identity as a bipartisan spiritual and civic community.

  Source

1. 1Faith and Politics Instituteen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Faith and Politics Institute official websitefaithandpolitics.org