From the COVID-19 pandemic to the January 6th insurrection, there’s no shortage of twists and turns the nation has endured in recent years. Underpinning each of these events is a battle over what’s true and what’s false, forcing Americans to more carefully consider where they receive their information. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, with Independence Day almost upon us, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush examines the power of untruth in rewriting history, and how that impacts the present. Falsehoods are also central to campaigns attacking LGBT-positive content in public schools, and we’ll look at a case study in Montgomery County, MD.

Dr. Kevin M. Kruse is Professor of History at Princeton University. He specializes in the political, social, and urban/suburban history of twentieth-century America, with a particular interest in conflicts over race, rights and religion and the making of modern conservatism. His books include One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, and he’s currently posting essential commentary at his Substack titled Campaign Trails.

Lies and scaremongering have triggered fears of LGBT-positive educational materials in Montgomery County, MD public schools – including among some Muslim and other minority families. Paul welcomes Ambereen Khan, host of the popular Interfaith Voices program on National Public Radio and a parent in the Montgomery County school district, for a conversation about the fear campaign as well as how finding common ground at the individual level can spark empathy and defuse an increasingly tense situation.