Is the chaos of today’s American politics accidental? Not at all, according to Protect Democracy Executive Director Ian Bassin. This week, he tells host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush about the seven-point playbook of modern authoritarians - and how to counter it. Ian also describes the three "d" strategy to attack democracy: Deceive, Disrupt, and Deny. He also shares a Protect Democracy resource for understanding and defeating this strategy, the Executive Override Report, available at protectdemocracy.org/DDD

August 11th is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day,  and the website Powerthepolls.org contains a wealth of information about getting involved, hands-on, in our electoral system – and our democracy.

More about Ian Bassin

You may recognize Ian’s name from a powerful Ted Talk titled, How to spot authoritarianism — and choose democracy. He’s a former White House counsel and 2023 MacArthur Fellow, and Founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy, which works to defeat authoritarian tactics and build a stronger, fairer democracy.

Protect Democracy partnered with Interfaith Alliance to produce a moving series of advertisements promoting the message “Choose Love, Not Ice”, and the article co-authored by Ian Bassin and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is titled, We Need A New Great Awakening.

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It’s easy to look at the Trump White House and say, "It's not like it used to be.” But this week, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes Peter Maer, a journalist who covered every president from Carter to Obama and brings a first-person account of how things really were… And how they appear to be now.

Peter served as a network White House correspondent from 1977 to 1995. His new memoir is titled, Chasing the Story: A Reporter's Journey to the White House. Peter recalls how religion was expressed in past presidencies, and isn’t shy to share his impressions of the current administration’s fraught relationship with the press.

More About Peter Maer

In those 29 years he also covered every presidential campaign, convention, and election from 1980 through 2012, earning five Merriman Smith Awards from the White House Correspondents' Association.

The State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance.

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AI is all around us – and you've probably been affected by both the hype and the scaremongering. The fact is, harnessing it for the good is as much a question of ethics and intentionality as it is of technology. That’s according to technologist, entrepreneur, and best-selling author Cheryl Contee. This week, we get into AI's role for nonprofits, faith communities, and ethical AI training, as well as AI’s potential to revolutionize healthcare, education, and longevity. Cheryl stresses the role of religious leaders and faith communities navigating AI’s influence, including Pope Leo’s call to “disarm artificial intelligence.”

This episode is about as timely as any we have ever produced.

More about Cheryl Contee:

Cheryl Contee is an author, investor, and entrepreneur, as well as a leading expert on real-life applications for artificial intelligence. Cheryl is currently Chief Innovation Officer at Brightworks.ai, Senior Advisor to PosterChild.ai and Changeagent.ai. She's the co-author of the best-selling book AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause.

The State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance.

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This weekend, July 17-19th, people across this country are carrying on the legacy of the late civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis, who famously called the work of justice “making good trouble.” It’s the “Good Trouble Lives On” Weekend of Action, and historian David Greenberg, author of the authoritative biography John Lewis: A Life, joins host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush on The State of Belief.

Challenges that Rep. Lewis faced as a civil rights activist are reemerging like never before - and the lessons of his activism can help guide us forward today.

On Thursday, July 16th, Senator Alex Padilla, along with the coalition Faithful Democracy, convened an interfaith roundtable discussion on protecting elections and voting rights to commemorate the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, six years after his passing.   

We start the show with just a few minutes from this historic event, which brought together diverse leaders and a total of ten sitting members of the US Senate.

More about David Greenberg:

Dr. David Greenberg is a historian, author, and journalist who focuses on U.S. political history, the presidency, media, and public opinion. He is a professor of history, and journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, and among his books is a comprehensive biography of the late congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis.

The State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance.

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Have you noticed how faith and belief have been showing up on one of the biggest stages in sports? From prayer circles to Islamic sujood, religion is shining bright at the World Cup. Religion News Service’s Madhiha Anis wrote about the various expressions of faith and belief on the global stage in an article headlined "From Christian Prayer Circles to Sujood, Religion Is All Over the 2026 World Cup." She joins host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to explore her observations.

It's striking how these rituals aren’t just rituals—they’re powerfully real expressions of identity and hope. It’s a reminder that behind every goal, there’s a person carrying their beliefs, their culture, their whole self into the match.

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On this 250th Independence Day, how much do our founding documents still matter to Americans? It turns out a lot, according to guest Prof. Jeffrey Rosen. CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, he’s a law professor at George Washington University and has traveled the country speaking to diverse audiences that share a deep commitment to our nation’s founding principles. 

Jeff quotes from memory host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush's great-grandfather Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis on free speech, and explains the thinking that the various founders brought to this experiment in democracy. Another highlight of the conversation: Enlightenment rational values were the driving force behind the Constitution’s emphasis on religious freedom for all. He doesn’t hesitate to point to where the founders fell far short of their ideals, but that fact ultimately offers hope for our time: we’ve come this far despite setbacks and mistakes – and so the conflicts and division of today don’t automatically guarantee failure in the years ahead.

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As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, Americans still believe that religious liberty is a cornerstone of our democracy. Against that backdrop, the Trump administration’s creation of a Religious Liberty Commission in May 2025 that is utterly lacking in diversity, and risks favoring some voices while leaving out others – called for a comprehensive response.

Called to respond, Interfaith Alliance, in partnership with Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), the American Humanist Association (AHA), and the Center for American Progress (CAP), brought together 20 leading voices from across the spectrum of religions and beliefs to author Religious Liberty for All: Celebrating This Founding Freedom at America 250.

The release event, held June 16th at CAP, featured US Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) as the keynote speaker, words from CAP’s Neera Tanden, and panel discussions featuring Rachel Laser of AU, Fish Stark of AHA, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush of Interfaith Alliance, Interfaith America’s Chris Crawford, Ria Chakrabarti of Hindus for Human Rights, and Adam Russel Taylor from Sojourners.

This week, Interfaith Alliance Senior Vice President for Policy and Outreach Dr. Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons joins Paul to describe the origins and importance of this report, and to share highlights of the release event itself.

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Can a family be radical, and radically ordinary, at the same time? The question came up as I interviewed my guest this week – author Brad Gooch, who happens to be married to host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, and the other dad to their two kids.

Brad has written a book, Good Morning Moon: A Snapshot of an American Family, that’s both a personal memoir and a loving telling of their family’s story. During Pride Month, as same-gender families are being challenged on religious and political grounds, it’s wonderful to step away from the struggles and celebrate just how beautifully ordinary this radical life has turned out to be.

It’s also wonderful to celebrate how marriage equality, the law of the land since 2015, has turned out not to be the affront to religious freedom and traditional values despite all the fearmongering we’ve all endured. Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons authored a comprehensive new Interfaith Alliance report, Same-Gender Marriage and Religious Freedom, and he joins me to share some highlights.

More about our guests:

Brad Gooch is a best-selling poet, novelist and biographer whose books include biographies of Keith Haring, Frank O’Hara, Rumi, and Flannery O’Connor. His latest book is titled Good Morning Moon: A Snapshot of an American Family. It’s part memoir, part mystery, and a profile of the way many of us have been living, particularly since marriage equality became the law of the land.

Dr. Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons is Senior Vice President of Programs and Policy at Interfaith Alliance. Also living in a same-gender marriage, Guthrie is the author of Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity.

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A backbone of the work we are able to do in the pro-democracy faith movement is the network of local Interfaith Alliance affiliates spread across the entire country—in red states and blue states and from sea to shining sea.

As the attacks on religious freedom for all intensify, more and more communities are creating Interfaith Alliance affiliates. At the same time, the longest-active affiliate, Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, just celebrated its 30th anniversary.

So this week, we bring together the longtime leader of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, Connie Ryan, as well as the head of one of our brand-new affiliates, Rev. Ingrid McIntyre of Nashville, TN. Leading our nationwide affiliate program is Victoria Strang, and she’s also with us to provide a big-picture view of the crucial work happening in so many parts of our nation.

Any group can become an affiliate. Whether you are an existing interfaith organization or looking to start one in your community please reach out to us. You can find the map of our existing affiliates on interfaithalliance.org/affiliate-network. You will see a button on that page titled "Start an Affiliate." just fill out that form and someone from the team will get back to you.

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Rev. Dr. Serene Jones served as president of Union Theological Seminary in New York City for 18 years—long enough to see her own daughter graduate from the historic institution. During that time, she has been a strong advocate for integrating activism with theological education, mirroring her own calling and journey.

We get Rev. Jones’ insights into how a seminary education has changed in the past two decades, and how today’s students are facing the challenges and realities of 2026 America. Her take on how churches and universities kept our democracy knitted together, and how the moral discourse that came from that has diasppeared, is a powerful warning, and an urgent call to action.

More about Rev. Dr. Serene Jones

Rev. Dr. Serene Jones has been a Yale professor, President of the American Academy of Religion, and, for the past 18 years, President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The institution promises to “prepare its students for committed lives of service to the church, academy, and society,” and Serene Jones is the first woman president in Union Seminary’s 188-year history.

This month, Rev. Dr. Jones is stepping down from this important role, but after a sabbatical she’ll be back at Union to teach, write, and continue her public theological engagement as Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy.

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