Remembering Michael
Michael Cromartie (1950-2017) was a one-of-a-kind think tank executive, DC influencer, and friend—and a steady, consistent resource to countless American journalists over the years. His untimely death following a three-year battle with stomach cancer spurred hundreds of tributes from leading journalists and friends, including this EPPC compilation and an article written by Josh Good about Mike’s life and story here.
In the late 1990s, Mike had the idea to create a twice-annual Faith Angle Forum—retreat-like conferences in Maine for a decade, and then in Florida—after realizing that many mainstream journalists simply don’t encounter religion firsthand. For secular or agnostic reporters, it becomes all too easy to misconstrue the assumptions, traditions, and deep convictions of the faithful—often just because of unfamiliarity, rather than prejudice. So Mike designed two-day Faith Angle forums to help strengthen reporting and commentary about the ways religious believers, religious convictions, and moral arguments affect American politics and public life.