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The State Of Belief

By: Interfaith Alliance
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  • Summary

  • Every week, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush hosts lively, funny and poignant conversations with inspiring religious and civic leaders; as well as artists and activists from across the country. Listeners get a potent mix of spiritual wisdom, political strategy, and hopeful commentary from national and local leaders who are rising up to meet this urgent moment in America. With the tagline: “Where Religion and Democracy Meet,” State of Belief is a celebration of our nation’s diversities and an invitation to join together to, in the words of the great James Baldwin, "achieve our country.”
    © 2023
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Episodes
  • Jim Wallis: False White Gospel

    Jim Wallis: False White Gospel
    Apr 27 2024
    The U.S. is now barely six months away from the 2024 election, and division and extremism seem to be at an all-time high. Race and religion play roles in much of the rhetoric surrounding the coming vote, and whether it’s imposing religion into public schools, dismantling reproductive freedom, or rolling back voting rights, Christian nationalists are stripping away freedoms at every turn. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by activist and theologian Jim Wallis to discuss the importance of using faith as a guide for seeking truth, and the promise of a multiracial democracy. "We could become the first genuine multiracial democracy in the world. It's a wonderful opportunity we have, but it will be answering this question, the one you raised: who is my neighbor? It will be treating people who are different than me as my neighbor. And the title of that chapter is: "Your Neighbor Probably Doesn't Live in Your Neighborhood. "So how do we reach out to those who are different than us, treat them like a neighbor? And that's exactly what Jesus did in this wonderful Good Samaritan parable. So the Good Samaritan could help lead us to a multiracial democracy.” -Jim Wallis, theologian, writer, teacher, political activist, and the founder of Sojourners Community and Magazine. Today he chairs the Georgetown University Center for Faith and Justice and the inaugural Archbishop Desmond Tutu Chair in Faith and Justice at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy. His latest book is titled, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy.
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    53 mins
  • Reproductive Rights on Trial with Skye Perryman

    Reproductive Rights on Trial with Skye Perryman
    Apr 21 2024
    In the coming days, the United States Supreme Court will hear a case on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) – a federal law that guarantees all people treatment for emergency medical conditions. However, anti-abortion extremists are trying to exclude pregnant people from EMTALA’s long-standing protections. This has the potential to not only drastically impact access to life-saving reproductive care, but also religious freedom. The same goes for the recent SCOTUS oral arguments on access to mifepristone, the leading medical pregnancy termination drug. And of course, we're fast approaching the 2nd anniversary of the Dobbs decision, reversing Roe v. Wade. Infringing on people’s rights to make personal decisions based on their own moral beliefs is one way that religious extremists are seeking to chip away at our democracy and impose their Christian nationalist agenda. One way to push back is to stand together for the values most Americans actually hold. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward to unpack the EMTALA and mifepristone cases and their impact on democracy. Paul also speaks with the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Church about the upcoming Freedom Rising Conference, which will convene community leaders, organizers, and educators to determine how the interfaith movement can work together to save democracy in this pivotal moment. “These are attacks on our democracy, plain and simple. They’re attacks on everything about the way of our life in America, about the ability to hold our freedoms, about the ability to raise our families, about the ability to be in communities with people. And so I think we need to see that for what it is. And one thing that people can do is just to make sure that they are engaged in their local communities, that they are registered to vote, that they are encouraging people to vote.” - Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. An attorney, activist, and organizer, she is also a member of the board of Interfaith Alliance. “Whether our political party is Democrat or Republican or Independent, we know that our democracy is eroding, and if we want to stop the failure of democracy and the destruction of Mother Earth, we remember that God is for the healing of all the people and for the protection of the planet. And we, we are co-creators with God. We are co-stewards with God. We have a responsibility to load in at this time so that love can win in November. And that's what we're organizing for.” - The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, longtime senior pastor at Middle Church in New York City. Author of the book Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Frocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World. Jacqui is an activist, preacher, writer, and teacher. She also hosts the Love, Period podcast.
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    56 mins
  • Faith and LGBT Politics with R. G. Cravens

    Faith and LGBT Politics with R. G. Cravens
    Apr 13 2024
    While some traditions and congregations may be more inclusive than others, LGBTQ+ people have always had a presence in faith communities. When faith communities are affirming of LGBTQ+ people, it creates opportunities for more welcoming spaces, challenges forces of division, and fosters a society that embraces pluralism and intersectionality. This affirmation and inclusion also expands religious freedom for all by promoting peaceful coexistence and challenging the exclusionary and discriminatory white Christian nationalist agenda. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by Dr. Royal G. Cravens III to explore the history of LGBTQ+ inclusion within faith communities. They discuss how faith and LGBTQ+ communities can empower each other to engage in positive political action and dismantle the barriers that often separate faith and acceptance. "I think the one thing that's so important for me to say now is that the idea that one person can't be both LGBTQ+ and religious, that's a false construction. It's a political construction, largely. It's something that was created to fuel political division. And so I think it's really important if you can understand that, then it makes sense that LGBTQ+ people are deeply influenced by faith; that faith, how we're socialized into it, because it's part of the world that we live in, especially in American politics, that it makes sense that it would influence how LGBTQ+ people engage.” -R. G. Cravens III, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. R.G.’s recent book is titled: Yes, Gawd! How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States. The author of several important recent SPLC reports, including CAPTAIN, which stands for Combating Anti-LGBTQ Pseudoscience Through Accessible Informative Narratives. he is the previous recipient of the Bailey and Cynthia Weber Award from the American Political Science Association and has held fellowships with the Social Science Research Council and Public Religion Research Institute.
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    52 mins
Politics & Government Spirituality
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