Religion Unmuted

How do we build community that is strong in identity while remaining porous and flexible? Can women and religion be assets to inclusive community building? These questions have never been more urgent, as the United States wrestles with deep political divisions and faces a humanitarian crisis tied to immigration at the border. Drawing on her experience as a journalist, Anne Snyder reflects on the challenges and opportunities for building communities that are resilient, compassionate, and diverse.

Sister Norma Pimentel shares her personal journey—from spending her youth in both Mexico and the US (by traversing what she saw as a bridge, not a border); to finding her faith; and eventually devoting herself to a religious life in the Catholic Church. All of these experiences shaped her views on immigration and led her to her work today, as Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Join us on this journey with Sister Norma to understand what she feels working with immigrants and refugees at the border, as well as how the experience of migration and crossing the border can be uniquely challenging for women.

Borders are everywhere—and not just physical borders, like that along the southwestern part of the United States which so often comes to mind. There are numerous political, ideological, and other figurative boundaries that separate us in our everyday lives. Scholar, author, and documentarian Miguel De La Torre sheds light on these borders during his conversation with Elaine, and how we might attempt to tear them down. They also discuss the unique ways that women experience immigration and physically crossing borders.

How does religion inspire and give hope to people in different communities who are working on the ground? In this episode, we want to push the conversation to deeper understandings of how religion, race, and gender shape American politics in everyday life. Jamillah Karim, Besheer Mohamed, and Laura Olson return for part 2 of the panel interview.

In this episode of Religion Unmuted, we bring back all three experts from previous episodes for a group conversation about pressing issues in the days leading up to the 2020 election. From COVID to the Supreme Court, abortion to racial justice, hear how religion and gender may play a crucial role in the election outcome.

'None of you truly has faith, until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.' Jamillah Karim grew up hearing this Muslim saying. In this episode, Karim describes this concept as "radical love," and how this tenet of Islam can be part of an effective response to calls for racial justice.

Let's talk politics: Gender matters, but do other things matter more when it comes to predicting people's views on certain issues and how they will vote? Our guest in this episode of Religion Unmuted, researcher Besheer Mohamed, uses polling data to tackle tough questions like this one and others, revealing a surprising story and dispelling common myths along the way.

There's no arena where the intersection between race, religion, and gender is more evident than it is in the contest for the presidential election. And that's never been truer than it is in 2020 in the contest between Trump and Biden. In this episode of Religion Unmuted, we talk to political scientist Laura Olson about the intersections--and divisions--between these major issues and how they're challenging the candidates in this election.

Religion Unmuted is hosted by sociologists Pamela Prickett and Elaine Howard Ecklund. In this teaser episode, Prickett and Ecklund share why they created this show--to provide an informed, social-science driven conversation about religion in public life and to elevate women's voices in conversations about religion--and preview what is to come in future episodes.