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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What does it mean to be a stranger? Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s journey of faith, identity, and belonging teaches us the value of embracing the strangers among us—and our inner strangers, as well. In our increasingly divided world, the struggle to find belonging often leads us to question our identities. A cantor as well as a rabbi, she brings the experience of coming to a strange land, and the joy of leading Central Synagogue in New York City, one of the largest Jewish congregations in North America, to the conversation—as well as to her memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlike­ly Rab­bi’s Sto­ry of Faith, Iden­ti­ty, and Belonging.

Rabbi Angela has been a trailblazer in the Jewish community since 1999, when she became the first East-Asian person to be invested as a cantor anywhere in the world. In 2001, she became the first East-Asian American to be ordained a rabbi in North America. She came to Central Synagogue in New York as senior cantor in 2006 and was appointed senior rabbi in 2014.

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have included Rabbi Angela Buchdahl in their lists of America's "Most Influential Rabbis."

Read the Interfaith Alliance Marriage Equality White Paper by Dr. Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons that Paul introduces at the top of the show.

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What hope is there for the rule of law when the Justice Department is deployed to settle political scores and privilege one religion over others? A lot, as it turns out—but the work of rebuilding our nation's voting and justice systems won't be fast, and it won't be easy, according to this week's guest, Vanita Gupta, a civil rights attorney and former Associate Attorney General of the United States.

In conversation with host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, she emphasizes the fragility of our democracy due to eroding trust in institutions and urges moral courage among lawyers and citizens to defend justice and fairness. Vanita's insights on the power of faith communities in restoring trust and her call for cross-faith solidarity offer a hopeful path forward.

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A seismic shift is happening in America’s religious and political landscape—and we need to understand it now. Religion scholar and theologian Dr. Matthew D. Taylor unpacks how Christian nationalism, spiritual warfare, and authoritarian mythologies are reshaping democracy, fueling violence, and distorting faith. If you're wondering why faith is being weaponized to justify tyranny, or how religion fuels the dangerous myth of angels vs. demons in today’s politics, this episode reveals the startling truth behind the headlines.

Drawing from his work as the author of The Violent Take It By Force and his upcoming book Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists, Matt argues that understanding and confronting these spiritualized political narratives is essential to protecting both democracy and the integrity of faith.

Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University. His Substack is “Matthew D Taylor’s Reckonings."

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In the same two weeks, the Trump Anti-Christian Bias Task Force filled 560 pages with reports of deliberate discrimination by the Biden administration (and pretty much everyone else), and the Supreme Court ruled that anti-minority bias is gone from our elections and the landmark Voting Rights Act is no longer needed.

That’s exactly backwards, and we’ll get a chance to hear the expert opinion of Rev. Thomas L. Bowen, General Secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention—the denominational home of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thomas was Senior Advisor for Faith Engagement in the Biden White House, so he had a front-row seat for how decisions of faith were actually handled. He’s also already organizing to reduce the damage to democracy that the high court’s anti-VRA decision is sure to cause.

More about Rev. Thomas L. Bowen

Rev. Bowen is General Secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC). Headquartered in Northwest Washington, D.C. and boasting more than two and a half million members, the denomination is known as the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Bowen previously served as Senior Advisor for Faith Engagement in the Biden White House Office of Public Engagement. He also served as the

An ordained Baptist minister, Rev. Bowen has maintained his ties to the community and the local church, serving in various positions at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church since 2002. 

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Have you noticed how Pope Leo's calm, fearless stance is rattling those in power? He’s not just speaking to Catholics; he's challenging the very idea that religion should be silent in times of crisis, whether the topic is war or the treatment of immigrants.

This week, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes two leading American Catholic voices: religion professor Dr. Anthea Butler and best-selling author Father Jim Martin, SJ. They've got deep insights on the ways race, religion, and political priorities inform the furious responses from the White House and other powerful figures—and efforts to deny the moral authority of the head of one of the world's largest religions.

Dr. Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor of Social Thought and

Rev. Jim Martin is editor-at-large at the Jesuit America Magazine, consultor to the Vatican, and author of many books, including his latest—a memoir titled Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher,

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Is the tide finally turning on the bigotry, fear-mongering and manufactured division in our society, including on college campuses? The success of a joyful gathering last week at traditionally Baptist Baylor University in Waco, Texas, suggests it might be. This week on The State of Belief, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush brings us with him to the Baylor campus, sharing his own words of welcome from the All Are Neighbors gathering, as well as powerful remarks from two student organizers, Rev. Susie Hayward, an unstoppable faith activist from Minnesota, Dr. Greg Garrett (whom TPUSA has included in its “professor watch list,”) and Human Rights Campaign President Kelly Robinson.

We start things off with a conversation with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and a proud Baylor alum. In her words: “What these students showed is that there is a movement afoot, including in places like Waco, and maybe especially in places like Waco.”

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What does democracy truly mean in 2026, and how can we ensure its survival? What hope can the recent election in Hungary offer for reversing the slide of democracy in the US and elsewhere? Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Dr. Staffan I. Lindberg, founder of the Varieties of Democracy Institute, about V-Dem’s latest global report titled, Unraveling

The report raises crucial questions about the future of democratic governance. It underscores the importance of understanding both the

Key takeaways include:

- Democracy is Multifaceted: The state of democracy varies significantly across different nations, and understanding local contexts is crucial for promoting democratic values.

- Engagement is Essential: Electoral participation and civic engagement are critical in challenging authoritarian regimes.

- Concession Matters: Accepting electoral defeat is a vital

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This week, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes Rebecca Solnit—prolific writer, best-selling author, activist, and public intellectual. With 25 books to her credit—so far—Rebecca's latest is titled The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change.

In our conversation, she emphasizes collective hope, continuous community

Sign up for Rebecca Solnit’s newsletter at https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/

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