"The test of one’s own conviction comes when subjected to superior firepower. During the impressive, high-powered discussions at your conference on religion and international conflict, I had to worry about pinpoint-accuracy as well."

"The secular and the devout are almost as segregated as the sacred and the profane. Thanks to the work of EPPC, I have discussed at a high level with people who attribute my presence here to a divine plan. So, thank you (I think…)."

— Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair

"These conferences are fantastic. Religion informs just about every issue in public life, and there is no other forum where journalists can go to get sophisticated and balanced background knowledge. There’s also no other organization in town that does as good a job at getting journalists to think about religion, ethics and the deeper issues that are shaping politics and world affairs. And making it fun! Congratulations."

— David Brooks, editor, Weekly Standard

"I've sat through a lot of conferences, but the seminar for journalists organized by the Ethics and Public Policy Center is one of the best. A lot of what I learned there has already made its way into print."

— Patricia Cohen, ideas editor, New York Times

"While no one would turn down a trip to Key West in December, that was not the draw. The draw was the content and caliber of the speakers, as well as the other journalists. At Key West, I was continuously absorbing new ideas and new facts. When I left, my notebook was full and I was a much more informed journalist."

— Barbara Bradley Hagerty, National Public Radio

"As a citizen as well as a writer, I’m grateful to the Ethics and Public Policy Center for bringing together journalists who cover religion with academics who study it. The 2002 Key West conference on Religion and International Conflict provided me with a lot of lessons and even a few epiphanies. Invite me to the 2003 conference, and I’ll be there if you hold it in Pittsburgh."

— Wendy Kaminer, freelance writer and author

"What’s impressive about the Religion in Public Life conference isn’t just the panel of world-class experts and journalists that the Center curates. It’s the debates that the Center ignites—at the dinner table, at the bar, between sessions. For three days, it became impossible to set aside our discussions of Islam—its pathologies, its prospects. There was a shared feeling of intellectual fervor. And even for those of us who have spent considerable time thinking over these issues, we came away from the retreat having advanced our understanding of these monumentally important issues."

— Franklin Foer, New Republic

"The discussions we had in the formal seminars, as well as and around the dinner table and in the bar at night enlightened me beyond all my expectations, and did so about a subject that is as important as anything happening right now in the world. The guest list of participants you assembled was inspired; everybody took the purpose for being there quite seriously. Even here at National Journal, which prizes thoughtful journalism, the opportunity to listen, to discuss, to be reflective is a luxury. Thank you again for providing it."

— Carl Cannon, White House Correspondent, National Journal

"Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to take part. The conference was an extraordinary opportunity to step back, take a deep breath and consider the context that so often gets lost in the daily chase for news. The speakers—and the other participants—challenged everything I thought I knew about Islam. Probably the greatest compliment to the quality of the discussion is the fact that it continued right up until we all said goodbye at the airport."

— Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent, Time

"Your conference on Islam post-September 11 was a one-of-a-kind experience; no one else provides an opportunity for working reporters to gather and listen to the experts—and this is the important part—without the pressure of looming deadlines. The talks were informative and the debates were lively; all in all, an invaluable experience."

— Jeffrey Goldberg, staff writer, The New Yorker

"I was pleasantly surprised at how substantive and informative the sessions were. The conference was fascinating and useful in more ways than I can count (and has resulted, as you may have noticed, in two columns in the Book Review). The speakers were impressive, but no more so than my fellow participants. You all really perform a valuable service."

— Judith Shulevitz, columnist, New York Times Book Review

"Mike: I want you to know how extraordinarily helpful I found your session today. I have been writing two and three times a week on the possibility of a war with Iraq, and naturally, I read everything I can get my hands on and make calls around town. But I do not know that I have encountered anything so clarifying and rich as the discussion between Hitchens, Galston and Weigel, especially on the specific question of whether a war without U.N. sanction would be just.

"Hitchens, as a journalist, brought a sense of immediacy to the proceedings. He gave us the flavor of things. His erudition served him well, but so did the fact that he has been to these places and smelled the evil. Galtson gave us the beauty of disciplined, academic thinking, propelled by moral concern. He expressed himself so cleanly, so precisely. Weigel provided some of that, too, with his emphasis obviously being more out of the tradition of Catholic philosophy.

"Even though Hitchens and Weigel agreed in principle, they made very different kinds of arguments, it seemed to me, and Galston was up to holding his own against them, despite the wit of Hitchens and the weight of Weigel. The give-and-take made the whole proceeding that much more of a learning experience. Anyway, the short of it is that I think I will be able to address these issues with deeper and clearer understanding now. Thank you, and thanks to the Ethics and Public Policy Center."

— Jay Ambrose, director of editorial policy, Scripps Howard News Service

"The seminars at the Ethics and Public Policy Center are consistently some of the most intellectually stimulating events I attend in Washington."

— Ben Wittes, editorial writer, Washington Post

"My attendance at the Ethics and Public Policy Center seminar in Key West was a wonderful window not only into political Islam and Christianity, thanks to the articulate and well-chosen speakers; but also onto my colleagues’ approach toward the topic. The seminar propelled me down several fruitful lines of inquiry and has helped me to better read—and comment on—today’s events."

— David Van Biema, senior writer, Time

"Once again, the Ethics and Public Policy Center has tackled issues central to the country's future, with a level of thought and perspective not available elsewhere. I will continue to refer back to the commentary I heard at Key West in covering homeland security, the ongoing war on terrorism, and the nation's place in the Islamic world."

— Nina Easton, deputy managing editor, The Federal Paper

"I’ve drawn upon the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s sessions with remarkable frequency. It’s among the most valuable programs of its kind. It’s indispensable."

— David Shribman, Washington bureau chief, Boston Globe

"Sept. 11 left me groping for a better—if belated—understanding of the newly revealed forces at play. How to untangle Islamic fundamentalism from criminal terrorism? Were the trade towers collateral damage from a civil war within Islam? Or the first blow in a clash of civilizations? Then came the conference in Key West. Thanks for such a timely opportunity to begin seeking the clarity we all so desperately need."

— Dan Morgan, national correspondent, Washington Post

"I found some of the discussions and presentations at the Key West conference very stimulating. I would single out the presentations by Gilles Kepel and David Brooks. I also enjoyed talking to some of the people, whom I had heard of, and read things by, but had never met. I can’t imagine a more pleasant setting."

— John Judis, senior editor, New Republic

"Topics and experts will change with each conference, but one thing is constant: the opportunity to think about what we should be thinking about. [This] conference offered valuable guidance."

— John Cochran, correspondent, ABC News

"This was a splendid and immensely fruitful conference, not the least for the quality of journalists you were able to attract. It was beautifully organized and executed and managed to cover a lot of ground."

— Kenneth Woodward, senior religion writer, Newsweek

"[This] conference raised all the right questions about the role of Islam in current international conflict. Even if we journalists were not satisfied by all of the scholars' answers, we were challenged to seek them on our own. As usual, beyond the useful information and contacts, the EPPC conference was an invaluable provocation. It will help us focus our news-gathering agenda for years to come."

— Jay Tolson, senior writer, U.S. News & World Report

"The conference was a rare opportunity for me, as a journalist, to listen to those with exceptional expertise in the area of religion and terrorism. It provided ideas for columns and background that allows me to better evaluate the information on the subject that I see in the news media. Most of all, however, it gave me an opportunity to exchange ideas, both with the academics presenting the material and other journalists attending the conference."

— Peter Brown, editorial columnist, Orlando Sentinel

"This was the best event of its kind that I've gone to. What made it so was the high level of speakers and discussion. Even after the panels, everyone kept talking about the subject. It was a very rich occasion."

— David Boldt, editorial writer, Philadelphia Inquirer

"I found the conference a great opportunity to learn in depth about a subject that touches a lot of my work. The speakers were insightful, and the participants stirred the pot with good questions."

— Paul Richter, correspondent, Los Angeles Times

"The conference blended serious reflection on timeless political and religious issues with timely responses to concrete policy questions. The speakers were astute, the journalists inspiring, and the experience invigorating."

— Colleen Carroll, writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"This [conference] was a wonderfully stimulating exchange of ideas, relaxed, freewheeling, first-rate in every way."

— John Leo, columnist, U.S. News & World Report

"Journalists talk with intelligent sources all the time, but only rarely get a chance to exchange ideas and reflect together in an unpressured way in the company of thoughtful experts willing to teach, to argue, and even to laugh. This year's discussion of Islam in the wake of Sept. 11th came at just the right time, and it provided a great antidote to stereotypes and mushy thinking."

— E. J. Dionne, columnist, Washington Post

"The greatest benefit of the conference for me...is how it deepened and reinforced my understanding of the inseparable interplay of religion and politics and its historical pedigree, given how often public debate these days seems to assume that the relationship is misplaced, alarming, and uniquely modern."

— Vincent Carroll, columnist, Denver Rocky Mountain News

"It is so rare that journalists have a chance to step back from the day-to-day pressures to think in terms of the intellectual frame that surrounds larger public policy questions. I came away both with story ideas and with a set of questions to ask as I go about my beat reporting."

— Alissa Rubin, reporter, Los Angeles Times

"How was this conference useful to me? Three ways. Extremely valuable contacts. Possible story ideas. And very helpful to have Michael Cromartie mention books related to various subjects."
William McGurn, chief editorial writer Wall Street Journal

"[This conference] was a vigorous intellectual exercise."

— Dana Milbank, White House Reporter, Washington Post

"Thanks very much for including me in your most enlightening conference. I learned a great deal, not to mention how much I enjoyed the setting! I look forward to learning what your busy and valuable think tank will come up with next."

— Melana Zyla Vickers, editorial writer, USA Today

"I did want to tell you that it was an excellent conference and thank you for including me. There was scarcely a sleepy moment the whole time, which is some kind of record, and everything ran so smoothly, which is a tribute to your excellent staff. You now qualify as the new century’s greatest impresario of intellectual good times—and I thank you again."

— Andrew Ferguson, writer, The Weekly Standard

"This meeting was most useful in giving me a much richer understanding of the history of religion in American public life. It gave me a greater sense of how important (and under appreciated) religion is as an indicator for political behavior. And it gave me good ideas for what scholars I should talk to and read when I'm curious about particular aspects of religion and politics."

— David Plotz, editor, Slate.com