Race, Religion and Reproductive Rights on the 2016 Campaign Trail

up on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and

podcast, as well (and not just because it’s 104 degrees in Welton’s home

town of Monroe, LA). This week we check in with several experts about

the religious dimensions of the race for the White House. Noted Catholic

historian and author Patricia Miller will join us to talk about the

latest fights in access to contraception and women’s health. Veteran

religion journalist Kim Lawton of PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

shares her observations from the 2016 campaign trail. And theologian

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite comes back to talk to us about the

#BlackLivesMatter movement and what it means for America’s religious and

political landscape.

As religious conservatives sound the alarm about Planned Parenthood, the

quieter fight over the contraceptive coverage included in the

Affordable Care Act continues. While last year’s Hobby Lobby decision

blew the law – and, with it, our constitutional understanding of

religious freedom – the onslaught has continued from a range of

religiously affiliated colleges, hospitals and organizations. But the

fate of these cases in court, at least so far, just might surprise you.

This week Welton’s joined by Patricia Miller a

historian and author deeply familiar with Catholic doctrine and history

and women’s health and contraception who will fill us in on these latest

developments.

It feels like the 2016 election really launched last week with the first

Republican Primary debate, and already religion is playing a

controversial role. From candidates seeking an audience with the

Southern Baptist Convention to Fox News asking politicians whether God

speaks to them directly, there’s no escaping religion on the campaign

trail. Tune in to hear veteran religion reporter Kim Lawton, managing editor and correspondent for PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, discuss what she’s seen so far in this election, as well as the challenges and rewards of religion journalism more broadly.

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite is a professor at Chicago Theological Seminary.

She’s also one of our go-to guests when the trials our nation faces

calls for a more sophisticated approach to theology. That approach is

exactly what she offers in her latest piece at The Huffington Post, White America: What is Your Stake in Black Lives Matter? She’ll

talk to Welton about the Black Lives Matter movement, and the vital

connection between issues of race, gender – and the environment.