ABSTRACT
This chapter presents context-specific details about Georgia and explains why an innovative program is necessary in a polarized context, where discussion about religion is common but controversial. Three themes of the conversation frame the discussion in the chapter from various key voices: (1) Limits on Freedom of Expression, (2) Rise in Polarization and the Urban-Rural Divide, (3) “We Have No Choice But To Try To Do This.” The first theme presents the Religious Freedom Center's (RFC's) analysis of contextual details in the creation of the program itself. The second theme highlights the difficulties facing the RFC identified by our interviewees. The third theme comes from our interview with one of the founders of the 3Rs approach. His perspective echoed that of many interviewees, who, in understanding the first two themes, felt that the Program was important to initiate precisely because of existing tensions.
