By Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy
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The podcast currently has 341 episodes available.
This week’s episode of The State of Belief features interviews with guests along Interfaith Alliance’s “The Vote is Sacred Bus Tour.” Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush visits with Karim Khayati, Rabbi Deanna Sussman, Rev. Sarah Jones, Dan Osborn, Connie Ryan, State Sen. Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot, Rhonda Lindner, Rev. Breanna Illéné, and Khalilah Worley, leaders empowering voters to hit the polls to defend religious freedom and multi-faith democracy.
These conversations spotlight a shared commitment among diverse leaders—politicians, clergy, and activists—to advocate for social justice, community engagement, and the empowerment of marginalized groups. Underlining the bus tour’s goal of highlighting the role of diverse religious communities engaged in inspiring pro-democracy activism, these leaders’ efforts reflect a shared commitment to fostering a vibrant, multi-faith democracy, working alongside amazing partners to lift up the voices of all Americans in the face of extremism and Christian nationalism.
Karim Khayati, Rabbi Deanna Sussman, and Rev. Sarah Jones are leaders in the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faith communities, respectively, that make up the unique Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska. A fitting place to begin The Vote Is Sacred bus tour, and their thoughts are a fitting way to start this week’s show.
Dan Osborn highlights the lack of working-class representation, stating, “Less than 2% of our elected officials in the House and Senate came from the working class… I’m going to have a worker agenda.” Connie Ryan echoes the need for change, emphasizing that “reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and public schools are on the ballot,” calling for people to harness “the magical power of voting” to stand up for justice.
State Sen. Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott reminds us that “every single elected office matters,” while the Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot emphasizes the Episcopal Church’s commitment to justice, stating, “One of the vows that we take… is to respect the dignity and worth of every human being.” Rev. Breanna Illéné also recognizes the intersection of faith and politics, asserting, “Your faith should impact your life. Politics impact your life… and they do mix and need to mix.” Rhonda Lindner expresses hope for democracy by asserting, “If every Wisconsin voter who wants to vote and who should vote, votes… democracy and the will of the people will stand.” And even as gerrymandering threatens the fairness of the vote in several states, Khalilah Worley Billy reminds us to “Find joy in this election.”
Karim Khayati is a co-founder of the American Muslim Institute and currently serves as vice president. He is also a board member of the Tri-Faith Initiative of Omaha. Both positions reflect his passion for continuing to make Omaha a thriving, diverse community.
Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin serves as the Associate Rabbi of Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska. It is one of the three faith communities co-located on the Tri-Faith Initiative campus.
Rev. Sarah Rentzel Jones is Congregational Care Minister at the Countryside Community Church, the Christian partner of the Tri-Faith Initiative. Countryside is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, and was established in 1949.
Dan Osborn is a U.S. Navy veteran, industrial mechanic, former labor union leader, and independent candidate in the 2024 Nebraska Senate election.
Connie Ryan is the executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, where she is a well-known voice in the public square. She speaks out to protect religious freedom while ensuring it is not misused as a tool to harm or discriminate, advance civil rights and fairness for those who are marginalized, and unite diverse voices to challenge extremist ideologies.
Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott is an Iowa State Senator and an ordained ECLA minister focused on helping working families: good schools, clean water, quality accessible healthcare, economic opportunity, safe communities, and civil rights.
The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot is the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa the first woman to serve as bishop since the diocese was formed in 1853. Previously, Monnot served as the priest-in-charge at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Rancho Cordova, California.
Rhonda Lindner is the Education Director at Tikkun Ha-Ir and concurrently works as the statewide Interfaith Organizer for the WI Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign (WIVEC).
Rev. Breanna Illéné is the Director of Ecumenical Innovation and Justice Initiatives at the Wisconsin Council of Churches. She leads the WCC’s advocacy program, working to engage churches in policy on local, state, and national levels.
Khalilah Worley Billy is Senior Organizer at Greater Cleveland Congregations, a nonpartisan, multi-race, multi-faith group working for social change. GCC’s get-out-the-vote efforts include the Voter Virginity Program, reaching out to first-time voters across Ohio.
The post November 2, 2024 – The Vote Is Sacred Bus Tour first appeared on State of Belief.
Since 2021, a coordinated campaign to censor certain literature, curricula, and ideas has spread like wildfire across American public schools and libraries. The growing movement to ban books has found startling success, and authors and characters representing marginalized communities – including minority faiths – have been disproportionately singled out. As we mark the start of the annual Banned Books Week, we welcome representatives from two leading free expression organizations on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, to discuss the evolving tactics of the book banning movement and how we can fight back together.
Tracie D. Hall has led the American Library Association since 2020. With a background ranging from librarian to working at the Joyce Foundation and with the City of Chicago, Tracie has seen the power of words, literacy, and books from many angles, and is deeply concerned about how book bans threaten our individual freedoms. She joins Interfaith Alliance President Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, host of The State of Belief, this week to preview Banned Books Week, the national campaign UniteAgainstBookBans.org, and lessons learned from successful initiatives to oppose book bans.
Sabrina Baêta is on the Freedom to Read team for PEN America, an organization working to defend free expression at home and abroad. She has been on the front lines of the group’s campaign to document the rising number of book bans in state after state, helping to raise awareness about why these efforts undermine our public schools and our First Amendment rights. Sabrina joins Paul to discuss PEN America’s new report, Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor, data on religiously-motivated bans, and the impact all of this is having on writers and readers.
Interfaith Alliance is mobilizing faith communities to defend our freedom to read – on October 18, we’re bringing together Congressman Jamie Raskin and leading advocates on Capitol Hill to discuss how we can mobilize in defense of public education and democracy.
To expand our reach, State of Belief is now being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post September 30, 2023 – Banned Books Week with Tracie D. Hall and Sabrina Baêta first appeared on State of Belief.
What insights essential for today’s divided America can be found in the timeless writing of the great James Baldwin? And what recent developments in religion news are likely to resonate throughout our culture, in faith and secular areas alike? On this week’s State of Belief, the weekly radio program and podcast from Interfaith Alliance, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush addresses both of these topics.
The great American writer James Baldwin passed away 36 years ago. But his seminal works – as well as his unvarnished social commentary – continue to inspire readers and admirers today. And his message of an unlikely but possible true bridging of racial divides in this country is but one of the prophetic calls included in Prof. Greg Garrett‘s new book, The Gospel According to James Baldwin. A longtime professor at Baylor University, Greg has spent years following Baldwin – metaphorically and physically – to discover some of the reasons he sees his subject as “A prophet of humanity.”
Religion News Service is the leading nonprofit, nonsectarian journalistic enterprise in the United States focusing on religion, and the ways faith influences every part of our society and culture. Award-winning journalists Adelle Banks, projects editor and national reporter, and Jack Jenkins, national reporter and author of the book American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country, are back on State of Belief to review some stories from the summer some of us may have missed, and preview what they expect will hold the spotlight in the coming few months.
To expand our reach, State of Belief is now being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post September 23, 2023 – The Gospel According to James Baldwin with author Greg Garrett first appeared on State of Belief.
Since the beginning, The State of Belief has consistently pushed back against elected officials exploiting their positions of power to impose their own personal beliefs on those whom they serve. While that issue remains pervasive, other politicians have demonstrated that there is a better way – how personal faith can inspire devoted public service without crossing the line and violating Church-State separation. This week on The State of Belief, Texas State Representatives Salman Bhojani and James Talarico join host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, to discuss how they bring personal convictions to the Statehouse while respecting the important boundaries between religion and government.
Rep. James Talarico is a former public school teacher first elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives in 2018. A Harvard grad, Rep. Talarico has worked to ensure all Texas students have access to a quality education. In his first term, he helped write the most significant reform to the state’s school finance system in 20 years. He went on to pass major legislation to open up millions of dollars for student mental health and character education programs, establish the first-ever cap on Pre-K class sizes to reduce student-to-teacher ratios, and improve the quality and affordability of child care.
Born in Pakistan to a large family, Rep. Salman Bhojani immigrated to the Lone Star State when he was 19 years old. Rep. Bhojani earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and became a small business owner—purchasing convenience stores across the DFW Metroplex. He’s also an attorney and the first Muslim elected to the Texas State house – as well as the first person of color ever elected to represent House District 92. Rep. Bhojani has led the charge for bills protecting the religiously diverse beliefs of all Texans on matters including the observance of holy days and expanding the faiths represented among credentialed marriage celebrants.
To expand our reach, State of Belief is now being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post September 16, 2023: Faith and Public Service with Texas Reps Salman Bhojani and James Talarico first appeared on State of Belief.
From our nation’s founding, religion and politics have been intertwined. But the stereotype of what a “religious activist” looks like and believes is far from the reality. Our nation has a rich history of diverse people of faith fighting for justice, from racial equality, to health care access, to LGBTQ+ rights, the list goes on. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll hear from one such champion, Rev. Jennifer Butler.
Jen founded Faith in Public Life, a leading organization fighting for equity, fueled by faith, 17 years ago. And while the political landscape looks significantly different today, the moral imperative to pursue justice remains just as strong. Now serving as a consultant for institutions seeking to develop faith-based partnerships, she joins Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance and host of The State of Belief, this week to reflect on her changemaker career thus far; share a very personal, poignant story about the power of disinformation; discuss her book, Who Stole My Bible? Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny; how the progressive religious values that inspired leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. are actually shared by most Americans of faith today; and share where she finds hope.
To expand our reach, State of Belief is now being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post September 9, 2023: The Real Moral Majority with Rev. Jen Butler first appeared on State of Belief.
There are desperate needs in this world that religion and interfaith coalitions can address in uniquely effective ways. And a leading expert on the intersection of religion, development and peace joins host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio program and podcast.
Dr. Katherine Marshall is Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and leads the center’s work on religion and global development. She’s also a professor of the practice of development, conflict, and religion in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. Katherine serves as executive director of the World’s Faith Development Dialogue, and is a member of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She was a World Bank officer from 1971 to 2006 where she led the Faith and Ethics Initiative between 2000 and 2006.
To say that Katherine’s five decades of leadership equips her with unique insights is an understatement. From pioneering work to include women’s voices, to addressing the sensitive topic of development dollars influencing NGOs, to what’s the same and what’s different about the challenges faced by communities in far-flung parts of the world, her conversation with Paul offers both food for thought, and inspiration for getting involved.
State of Belief has a new home and is being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post September 2, 2023 – What Good Religion Can Do With Katherine Marshall first appeared on State of Belief.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions brings together thousands of religious leaders and activists from around the globe and across diverse faith traditions. Interfaith Alliance was honored to participate in this month’s convening in Chicago and meet so many new friends across faith and place committed to fighting the good fight for an inclusive vision of religious freedom and democracy. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll hear from a few of those allies in a special dispatch from Chicago.
Hear State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush in conversation with Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich, who serves as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago; OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership’s lead organizer for women’s initiatives Soraya Deen and OMNIA Institute President Rev. Dr. Shanta D. Premawardhana; Tri-Faith Initiative Executive Director and Co-Founder Wendy Goldberg; Academy Award-nominated director and producer Joshua Seftel, Stranger at the Gate film; and Sukhbir Singh, the main langar organizer and representative of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha in the United Kingdom.
We end this week’s State of Belief with the impassioned words Paul spoke to the Parliament’s plenary session in Chicago.
State of Belief has a new home and is being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post August 26, 2023 – A Call to Conscience at the Parliament of the World’s Religions first appeared on State of Belief.
More and more, scholars of religion and history are making a point to differentiate between Christian nationalism – a pernicious and anti-democratic ideology – and white Christian nationalism, a specific manifestation of this extreme movement that has influenced our nation’s policy and structures for decades. Now, a historian and researcher exposes how these themes actually date back centuries – to even before the founding of the nation. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we dive into the history of race, religion, and power in the United States.
Dr. Robert P. Jones, founding CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, is gearing up to release his newest book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, on September 5th. In it, he reveals the deep connection between organized religion and the dehumanization of Native Americans and Africans – a dehumanization that was officially sanctioned by the Western Church. Robby and Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, host of The State of Belief, explore this shocking history and the very real ways it continues to play out in the present day – including rhetoric we’re already hearing ahead of a contentious 2024 election.
State of Belief has a new home and is being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post August 19, 2023 – The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy with Robert P. Jones first appeared on State of Belief.
Starting on Monday, August 14th, Chicago, Ill. will play host to a unique week-long global initiative for peace and mutual understanding: the Parliament of the World’s Religions. With a history tracing back to 1893, the Parliament’s convenings attract participants from more than 200 diverse religious, indigenous, and secular beliefs and more than 80 nations. This year’s theme is A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights – and we’ll explore that theme and what we can expect in Chicago on this week’s State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio program and podcast.
State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by three leaders who are deeply involved in organizing the 2023 convening of the Parliament.
Rev. Stephen Avino serves as the Executive Director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. On the staff of the parliament since 2012, Stephen has remained deeply committed to the success of the global interfaith movement, serving as a key organizer for the 2015 Parliament Convening in Salt Lake City, the 2018 Parliament Convening in Toronto, and the 2021 Virtual Parliament Convening.
Sara Rahim a young professional with vast interfaith experience who trains others in social impact. A progressive Muslim, Sara is a past plenary speaker in the Parliament’s Inaugural Women’s Assembly and has addressed the United Nations representing the Parliament and its mission.
Phyllis Curott has served terms on the Parliament board across over three decades. One of the first public wiccan priestesses in America, Phyllis is chairing this year’s program and founded the Parliament women’s task force.
State of Belief has a new home and is being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post August 12, 2023 – Preview: Defending Freedom and Human Rights at the Parliament of the World’s Religions first appeared on State of Belief.
I’m convinced that Christian nationalism makes us bad Christians.
-Andrew Whitehead
You’ve heard a lot of compelling State of Belief conversations addressing the very real threat of Christian nationalism to American democracy and our pluralistic society. Now it’s time to expand the focus to include the damage American religion itself is enduring from this authoritarian movement. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush goes in-depth with Christian nationalism scholar Dr. Andrew L. Whitehead.
Andrew is co-author of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, and is publishing his latest book, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church, on August 15th.
Andrew Whitehead grew up in an Evangelical environment that was fertile ground for the Christian nationalist agenda, and brings deeply personal insights to this urgent subject. He’s associate professor of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where he codirects the Association of Religion Data Archives at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture.
State of Belief has a new home and is being distributed via the Religion News Service family of podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the next generation of State of Belief today via Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or at http://www.stateofbelief.com/newpodcast.
The post August 5, 2023 – American Idolatry with Andrew Whitehead first appeared on State of Belief.
The podcast currently has 341 episodes available.