Democracy Conference Schedule

For Registered Guests (no Housing)
Please park your car or have your ride drop you off in the A.J. Gordon Chapel Parking Lot. You can find this lot on the attached Visitor Parking Map.

Then, please walk to the Ken Olsen Science Center (located about a 2-minute walk away, visible from the Chapel Parking Lot). You can view the location on the attached Campus Map. In the entryway "Loggia," you'll see the Welcome Table and our smiling Conference Team members waiting to greet you. Please check in with them to receive your name tag and folder!

*If you anticipate needing to check in earlier than 1:30 p.m. or later than 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, please email our team at [email protected] so we can arrange a time for a Conference Staff member to hand off your name tag and folder.

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For Guests with On-Campus Housing:
Please park your car or have your ride drop you off in the A.J. Gordon Chapel Parking Lot. You can find this lot on the attached Visitor Parking Map.

You will be staying in the dorm directly across from the Chapel Lot, Chase Hall. A Conference Team member will be waiting to welcome you at the entrance of Chase Hall with your key card during the check-in window, 1:30-3:30 p.m. You can drop off your belongings, get settled, and then head to the Ken Olsen Science Center, viewable on the attached Campus Map. In the entryway "Loggia," you can pick up your name tag and folder from the Welcome Table.

*If you anticipate needing to check in earlier than 1:30 p.m. or later than 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, please email our team at [email protected] so we can arrange a time for a Conference Staff member to hand off your key card and show you to your room in Chase Hall. 

Miriam Belli (Gordon College)
"Childlike Faith? The Past, Present, and Future of Youth Religious and Partisan Identity in America"

Americans today are demonstrating increased affinity to a political party but decreased religious alignment, with their partisan identities often trumping any religious beliefs or practices. At the same time, recent decades have shown a blurring of the lines between religious and political authority, causing many to reject religious groups because of their party associations, or vice versa. Generation Z, with its unique experience and identity as the most socially diverse generation in American history, has the power to change this trajectory. With their surprisingly growing interest in religion and spirituality, specifically the Christian faith, members of Gen Z may alter the course of religious and partisan identity in the United States. Christians and the Church should be both encouraged and mobilized by this shift, and actively and intentionally respond.
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Ella Forest (Gordon College)
"Justice for the Poor: A Reformed Critique of Liberation Theology"

While Liberation Theology rightly identifies systemic oppression as an urgent moral concern, the developed argument is insufficient theologically and reduces justice to institutional reform. In contrast, the deeper theological reflections of sin, sovereignty, and salvation are more adequately developed in the Reformed Tradition. The Reformed Tradition’s emphasis on the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of institutions and human beings fills this gap with theological sufficiency. In turn, a true sense of justice for the poor demands not simply institutional change, but a holistic response rooted in proper theological principles, institutional responsibility, and the God-ordained responsibility of the state.
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Isaac Picariello (Gordon College)
"What has Vegas to do with Washington? How the gambling industry has crept further into American democracy."

Currently, prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are making headlines as forums for (in addition to sports betting) election gambling and political forecasting. These markets are coasting off of a complex but fascinating history. This paper unpacks what these companies are, unpacks the history of American political prediction markets, introduces the relevant arguments for and against the practice of political wagering, and highlights key things to watch for as the story of these markets continues.
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DISCUSSANTS:
Steve Alter (Gordon College, History)
Jennifer Hevelone-Harper (Gordon College, History)

This panel is a launch event for a special issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs titled “Possibilities for Covenantal Pluralism in the West.” Panelists will examine the contemporary legal, political, and cultural challenges of deep diversity in three country cases: the U.S., England, and Canada. Complimentary copies of the special issue will be available to conference attendees.
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Dennis Hoover (The Review of Faith and International Affairs)
Judd Birdsall (Georgetown University)
Robert Joustra (Calvin University)
Laura Olson (Texas Christian University)