Leaving a Fundamentalist Ultra Orthodox community is difficult, leaving that community when it has strong ideological beliefs tied to a political group is near impossible. Born into this type of ultra-Orthodox Jewish family, artist Sara Erenthal left home at 17 to avoid an arranged marriage and has spent the next two decades creating art and rebuilding her world. Sara has gone from being a member of the Israeli Military, to an art model, to a now acclaimed and rising artist in New York. Join host Hayley Karl as she speaks with Sara about her life before and after ultra orthodox religion and how her art is helping with this personal evolution.

One of the most difficult aspects of leaving organized religion is maneuvering the relationships that have been built within that community; family and friends, and for many a marriage. For those who met their spouse inside a religious community, made marital commitment and begin to have kids, it can be impossible to question the religious structure that brought them together. Today I speak with Ben and Becca Bauman about how they - and their young daughter - navigated leaving their strict Jewish community together, the challenges they faced and how they are building a new life, a new community and making new traditions.

The United States election has finally come to an end and we are now preparing for a new administration with our new President Elect, Donald J. Trump. Today we take a moment to speak with previous guests, author Frank Schaeffer and human rights activist Faisal Al Mutar about their reactions to the election and how and why we should have conversations about spirituality and humanity that honor the concept of civil disagreement.

The Christian church is currently undergoing an incredible transformation. The pews are emptying, fewer say they believe in God, and while some become atheist or agnostic, there are many who gravitate towards a new type of Christianity: the Emergent (or Emerging) Church. Known for it's open approach to questions surrounding the faith, it's accepting theology on the LGBT community, and the star power of it's community (Rob Bell, Peter Rollins, Brian McLaren,) the Emergent Church is still the number one choice for Christians who seek to leave organized religion behind, but believe there are enough redeemable qualities in Christianity to stay. But, is Christianity worth saving? Is Christianity worth a second look through another lens? Today's guest, author Brian McLaren, believes that it might be. Brian McLaren one of the founding leaders of the Emerging Church and through his desire to evolve the Christian Faith, he has gone through his own remarkable journey away from organized religion and embracing what he has identified as the main reason why Christianity is under such a dynamic shift now: the death of the Patriarchy. Join us today as we speak with Brian McLaren about his new book, "The Great Spiritual Migration" the great consciousness shift changing American politics, culture and religion and whether or not Christianity is at the beginning of it's end, or at a new beginning.

This month marks 15 years since the events of September 11th, 2001. Nearly every American who was alive during that time remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing on that day. Faisal Saeed Al-Mutar remembers as well - he was 10 and growing up in Baghdad, Iraq. His parents were Muslim and Faisal's father encouraged him to read, research and make up his own mind what he believed. When the Iraq War started, Faisal and his family were in the middle of the war zone. Faisal walked to school past dead bodies and went to bed with the sounds of fighting surrounding him. It was hell, and Faisal saw first hand not only the failings of US Diplomacy, but the intense problems with Islamic ideology. After the first Iraqi elections Faisal began speaking out against Al Qaeda, both publicly and online and received a number of death threats and close calls. But Faisal had an idea, "to unite humanists all over the world in order to bring positive change." He formed this idea into the Global Secular Humanist Movement in 2010 which is only one of Faisal's many beautiful humanitarian accomplishments, including receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award from the United States, from President Obama this past August. I sat down with Faisal a couple of weeks ago to discuss his time growing up in Iraq during the Saddam Regime, his choice to leave Islam and speak out against Al Qaeda, why the definition Islamophobia needs to change and his love for humanity, science and the universe.

"What's wrong with Donald Trump? What's wrong with racism? What is wrong with homophobia and sexism? In the final analysis it isn't morals, it's aesthetics. This is ugly shit. And in the final analysis you should reject things that are ugly, because they will burn your soul." This week we return with part two of our conversation with artist, philosopher, tomato gardener, bug zookeeper and grandfather, Frank Schaeffer. In the last episode Frank spoke briefly on the history of his life, a subject which is the focus of a new documentary "Let Me Be Frank." Today we're going to talk a little more about Donald Trump BUT, we will be also be talking about art and Frank's philosophy that beauty is truth and how he tries to live this philosophy every day.

If you've have never heard of Frank Schaeffer, you may be surprised to learn that his life has most likely impacted your life and the lives of nearly every American in ways we're just now beginning to grasp. Frank is the son of Evangelical Christian authors Francis and Edith Schaeffer who ran a world famous Christian organization in Switzerland. As Frank got older, both he and his father Francis became prominent figures of the Evangelical world in America, working closely with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and most importantly helping to start pro-life movement, as recently pointed out by Samantha Bee on her show, Full Frontal. Many who were religiously homeschooled in America in the last 30 years grew up watching Frank's Evangelical Christian movies. From the pro-life propaganda film, Whatever Happened To The Human Race to How Then Shall We Live, a documentary that Michelle Bachmann has often cited as one of her main inspirations. Frank Schaeffer left the Evangelical world years ago and is now an artist and writer. And while the most important aspects of his life involve his grandchildren, his family and his home in Massachusetts, Frank is extremely outspoken about his time in the fundamentalist Evangelical world as evidenced in his memoir Crazy For God and his most recent book, Why I Am An Atheist Who Believes In God. Co-host Dustin Parent and I sat down with Frank a couple of weeks ago to discuss his current advocacy against the Fundamentalist ideals of Donald Trump, America's addiction to certainty and the intrinsic value of Beauty. This is episode is part one of our conversation with Frank.

When Tovah was growing up, she had two divergent dreams. One, to get married a wonderful Orthodox man, start a family and live her life for God and her community, and the other, to have a career in comedy. Because the latter seemed out of reach and because community is so important to a orthodox girl growing up in a conservative family in the south, Tovah continued on the path of the first dream for many years. That is, until she moved to New York and discovered something incredible: wonderful communities exist outside of organized religion. It's something that would seem obvious to secular individual, but to someone growing in an insular world that's taught everyone outside of their community is disconnected from God - and therefore from them - it can seem impossible. Today we speak with Tovah Silbermann about how she is now living the impossible and about growing up Hasidic in New Orleans, Sex ed in Orthodox Judaism (there is none) and how you can be free to be yourself and still be connected to your culture.

Danny Scott grew up in a big Irish/Scottish/Italian family in New Jersey, and as anyone familiar with stereotypes will infer, Danny was raised Catholic. Still, Danny enjoyed going to church and found comfort in Catholicism. He enjoyed the community and he credits the Catholic high school he attended with keeping him focused and giving him the structure and discipline to earn his high school diploma. And yet, a few years after high school Danny was in a place where he felt he had to leave Catholicism and as he puts it, "break up" with God. It has been several years since Danny and God split, though recently, Danny has been reexamining the great beyond and now considers himself spiritual but not religious, a man of faith, with no faith. Danny does not believe in the bible, but when he sees one in a room, he can not help but feel drawn to it. So what is it about God/the Bible/Jesus that Danny can not completely break up from? Is it possible for him to be an objective spiritual person, outside of organized religion? And why is it that lately everyone Danny meets wants to talk about God?

Hinduism - according to many historical sources - is considered the world's oldest religion and is currently the third most popular religion on the planet. It includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities and no binding holy book. With a seemingly wide range of freedom and the mass appeal of many Hindu practices (yoga, meditation, etc.) it is surprising to find that there are many who choose to leave Hinduism behind. Today's guest, Greeshma, left Hinduism several years ago when she was still living in India. But why did she choose to leave a religion that seems so open, diverse, and from all outward appearances, free? Join Hayley as she speaks with Greeshma about growing up Hindu, why this and other religions have very little to offer women, and why we must encourage our parents to grow up with us.