Faith should be a bridge not a bludgeon. And yet, the Religious Right continues to weaponize religion to attack our LGBTQ+ siblings, religious minorities, and access to reproductive health care. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with guests at the forefront of these fights, who are pushing for a more inclusive vision of religious freedom.

Dora Muhammad is associate director for faith engagement at Planned Parenthood, the largest single provider of reproductive health services across the country. She joins Paul to discuss the abortion pill case before Supreme Court, the fight for reproductive freedom following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and how across both faith and place, Americans overwhelmingly support access to abortion as a matter of religious freedom.

Barry Nelson is the interim executive director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, a statewide, membership-based organization established to increase the visibility of human rights needs across the state. During North Dakota’s current legislative session, a record 21 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced. Alongside Rev. Joe Larson, the first openly gay Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor in the state of North Dakota, these two members of the Board of Interfaith Alliance of North Dakota join Paul to discuss this onslaught of attacks and how they’re fighting back.

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