In the coming days, the United States Supreme Court will hear a case on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) – a federal law that guarantees all people treatment for emergency medical conditions. However, anti-abortion extremists are trying to exclude pregnant people from EMTALA’s long-standing protections. This has the potential to not only drastically impact access to life-saving reproductive care, but also religious freedom. The same goes for the recent SCOTUS oral arguments on access to mifepristone, the leading medical pregnancy termination drug. And of course, we're fast approaching the 2nd anniversary of the Dobbs decision, reversing Roe v. Wade. Infringing on people’s rights to make personal decisions based on their own moral beliefs is one way that religious extremists are seeking to chip away at our democracy and impose their Christian nationalist agenda. One way to push back is to stand together for the values most Americans actually hold. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward to unpack the EMTALA and mifepristone cases and their impact on democracy. Paul also speaks with the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Church about the upcoming Freedom Rising Conference, which will convene community leaders, organizers, and educators to determine how the interfaith movement can work together to save democracy in this pivotal moment. “These are attacks on our democracy, plain and simple. They’re attacks on everything about the way of our life in America, about the ability to hold our freedoms, about the ability to raise our families, about the ability to be in communities with people. And so I think we need to see that for what it is. And one thing that people can do is just to make sure that they are engaged in their local communities, that they are registered to vote, that they are encouraging people to vote.” - Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. An attorney, activist, and organizer, she is also a member of the board of Interfaith Alliance. “Whether our political party is Democrat or Republican or Independent, we know that our democracy is eroding, and if we want to stop the failure of democracy and the destruction of Mother Earth, we remember that God is for the healing of all the people and for the protection of the planet. And we, we are co-creators with God. We are co-stewards with God. We have a responsibility to load in at this time so that love can win in November. And that's what we're organizing for.” - The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, longtime senior pastor at Middle Church in New York City. Author of the book Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Frocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World. Jacqui is an activist, preacher, writer, and teacher. She also hosts the Love, Period podcast.

While some traditions and congregations may be more inclusive than others, LGBTQ+ people have always had a presence in faith communities. When faith communities are affirming of LGBTQ+ people, it creates opportunities for more welcoming spaces, challenges forces of division, and fosters a society that embraces pluralism and intersectionality. This affirmation and inclusion also expands religious freedom for all by promoting peaceful coexistence and challenging the exclusionary and discriminatory white Christian nationalist agenda. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by Dr. Royal G. Cravens III to explore the history of LGBTQ+ inclusion within faith communities. They discuss how faith and LGBTQ+ communities can empower each other to engage in positive political action and dismantle the barriers that often separate faith and acceptance. "I think the one thing that's so important for me to say now is that the idea that one person can't be both LGBTQ+ and religious, that's a false construction. It's a political construction, largely. It's something that was created to fuel political division. And so I think it's really important if you can understand that, then it makes sense that LGBTQ+ people are deeply influenced by faith; that faith, how we're socialized into it, because it's part of the world that we live in, especially in American politics, that it makes sense that it would influence how LGBTQ+ people engage.” -R. G. Cravens III, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. R.G.’s recent book is titled: Yes, Gawd! How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States. The author of several important recent SPLC reports, including CAPTAIN, which stands for Combating Anti-LGBTQ Pseudoscience Through Accessible Informative Narratives. he is the previous recipient of the Bailey and Cynthia Weber Award from the American Political Science Association and has held fellowships with the Social Science Research Council and Public Religion Research Institute.

Language and the words we use possess the extraordinary ability to bridge divides and bring people together, fostering understanding and solidarity among diverse communities. However, when wielded maliciously, they can also serve as a dangerous tool for sowing discord and causing division. This week on The State of Belief, the weekly radio show and podcast by Interfaith Alliance, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with crisis communications expert Helio Fred Garcia. They delve into the power of language, its implications, and discuss available strategies for resistance, particularly in the context of the current election year marked by an alarming escalation of divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric on the campaign trail. “We can, at whatever level of society we happen to be at, we can be diligent and say, this demonization and dehumanization stops with me. I'm going to be the person who lives by the standard - and behavior that we walk past is behavior we condone. And so we need to call it out when we see it.” - Fred Garcia, founder and president of the crisis management firm Logos Consulting Group, and executive director of the Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership. A coach, counselor, teacher, and public speaker, Fred's books include Words on Fire: The Power of Incendiary Language and How to Confront It. He's on the faculty at New York University and Columbia University and is a past chair and long-time member of the board of directors of Interfaith Alliance.

As many faith traditions across the globe celebrate important Holy Days this weekend, it provides an opportunity for introspection and diving deeper into our personal relationships with faith. At a time in our history when an extremist religious minority seeks to weaponize faith in the service of an authoritarian political agenda, it’s important to build bridges and connections across traditions to lead with shared values of truth, justice, and love. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. John Pavlovitz joins host Rev. Paul Raushenbush to examine how faith can buoy us through challenging times. “But the parts about the fighting with and for my faith tradition, so the part about Christianity, is really important to me because it acknowledges that I have come through this tradition. I love it, many things that I have experienced as a part of it, but I also see its toxicity. And so there's the honesty about the tensions of saying, I have a deep spirituality and I have an incredibly complicated relationship with organized religion, and so how do I do that work? And how do I follow Jesus' command to love the least and love my enemies who may be oppressing the least?” - John Pavlovitz, an ordained pastor, writer, and activist from North Carolina. He is the best-selling author of numerous books including If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk and A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community. His new book, coming April 2, 2024, is titled Worth Fighting For: Finding Courage and Compassion When Cruelty is Trending.

Over the past several years, the global church has been grappling with sex abuse scandals and how to address and lift up the needs of survivors. In their new book, Surviving God: A New Vision of God Through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors, theologians Rev. Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Rev. Susan M. Shaw work to dismantle traditional theological constructs that perpetuate the grave issue of sexual abuse, shedding light on how these patriarchial beliefs diverge from the compassionate and just essence of the gospel. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by the authors to delve into the authors’ lived experiences and unveiling the intricate intersections of gender, race, sexuality, class, and religion. They discuss what can be done to offer a hopeful pathway to a reimagined church committed to healing and justice.  As I think more theologically every day, I'm thinking that our image, our metaphors, our understanding, our language, our words about God actually really, really has a deep impact on our actions, our thinking, our modes of behavior...If we continue to use this language in the church, it really allows abuse, allows domination, allows colonialism, allows subjugation, allows genocide, all these things, they are intersecting forms and acts of violence perpetrated against other people. - Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana, and an ordained Presbyterian minister. She's the author or editor of more than 20 books, including Hope in Disarray: Piecing Our Lives Together in Faith and Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World. Grace and I went into this book as survivors ourselves, and so we want survivors to know that we are speaking as people who understand what they've gone through and what they continue to go through. And while the book has a lot of difficult material, and we're going to talk about that, but we also ended on a note of joy. And so we want survivors also to know that we're going to get to the joy as we talk about it. - Dr. Susan M. Shaw, professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oregon State University. Her books include Reflective Faith: A Theological Toolbox for Women, and God Speaks to Us, Too: Southern Baptist Women on Church, Home, and Society. An ordained Baptist minister, Susan makes her congregational home in the United Church of Christ.

The outsized, but often forgotten, role of women in the Civil Rights Movement has come up several times recently on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance's weekly radio program and podcast. Now, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes an expert on the subject, Dr. AnneMarie Mingo. Her new book, out on March 26th, 2024, is titled Have You Got Good Religion? Black Women's Faith, Courage, and Moral Leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. "Unfortunately, we still see that today, where many of the women who are the strategists, the architects, those who are making it happen, are ignored. But one of the things that I've always appreciated that the women that I studied didn't get caught up in, was the fact that they were ignored. They still did the work anyway." - Dr. Anne Marie Mingo, associate professor of ethics, culture, and moral leadership, and director of the Metro Urban Institute at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. An ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, AnneMarie is the founder of Sister Scholars, an organization that supports Black women pursuing doctorate degrees. The compelling conversation raises up the everydayness of activists who never make headlines, but who ensure the words of prominent leaders are followed up with action.

Since long before the MAGA movement and the January 6 insurrection, white Christian nationalists have been pushing an agenda that marginalizes and discriminates against communities of color. We have seen how right-wing extremists have hidden behind Christianity as a cover for white supremacy, antithetical to Christian values of acceptance and justice. We can’t overcome Christian nationalism in the U.S. without having important conversations about the intersection of faith, race, and justice, and how white people must be involved in the work to desegregate religious spaces to make room for everyone. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by Dr. Jemar Tisby to dissect and discuss the complexities of racism in white evangelicism and the crucial role of cross-cultural relationships in achieving racial justice. “I think this is really the beating heart of racial justice is that at the end of the day, it's all about people. It's all about love of neighbor. And so for white people, relationships means actually having meaningful relationships across racial and ethnic lines, which takes an incredible amount of intentionality because of the intentionality that went into segregating people from one another, white people from other people. For Black people and people of color, I think relationships mean solidarity with other people of color, forming coalitions. We're stronger together than apart.” - Dr. Jemar Tisby, professor of history at Simmons College in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also a best-selling author, national speaker, and public historian. Dr. Tisby is the author of three books: The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism, How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Towards Racial Justice, and coming in September, The Spirit of Justice: Stories of Faith, Race and Resistance. He also hosts the Pass the Mic podcast.

On March 7, 2024, interfaith leaders from across the country will gather in Minneapolis for an Interfaith Symposium at Augsburg University. The symposium offers an opportunity for people to build community, collaboration, and trust by participating in vital interfaith dialogue. During a time when religiously motivated hate crimes are on the rise and Christian nationalists are hard at work attempting to overturn democracy, these interfaith conversations are more important than ever. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA and keynote speaker at the symposium, and Prof. Najeeba Syeed, executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg University, about the importance of interfaith solidarity in building a stronger, inclusive society and resilient democracy. “There has to be a conversation about: what do we do when there is a community, an individual in our community, there's some dynamic where someone is being targeted for hate? What and how do we engage that interfaith space around that reality, that lived reality?” -Dr. Najeeba Syeed, executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. For more than two decades, Najeeba has been a professor and practitioner in the fields of conflict resolution, mediation, and interfaith studies. An award-winning educator, she has taught extensively on interreligious education and restorative justice. “When you give people of radically different perspectives, the opportunity to hear each other in a constructive space, you realize that we very much overestimate the capacity of our differences to rip us apart, and we very much underestimate our capacity to actually see the commonality.” - Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA, a ​​student movement creating spaces for constructive political discussions on campuses across the country. He hosts The Hopeful Majority podcast and was included on the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in 2022.

Religious extremism is hardly a new phenomenon in America – but now more than ever, buoyed by an emerging Christian nationalist movement, it threatens nearly every corner of American public life. This week’s Alabama Supreme Court decision that frozen embryos constitute human beings – a ruling steeped in religious doctrine – is another painful reminder of that reality. In order to confront the threats to faith and democracy today, it’s our responsibility to understand the deep historical roots of these trends and how they have manifested over decades. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, journalist and best-selling author Tim Alberta sits down with host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to take us on both a personal and deeply reported journey of his experience with the evangelical church.   “I think one of the thematic throughlines of the book is understanding the ways in which our faith identities have become wrapped up in, almost inextricable from, our political identities and our kind of cultural, social identities and our national identity and understanding how that has happened and how it's progressed. Some of it has happened very subconsciously, I think. In other ways, there's been a conscious, concerted, very well-organized, well-funded effort to effectively merge the evangelical church with the Republican Party.” - Tim Alberta, staff writer for The Atlantic and the best-selling author of the new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. It is a fitting follow-up to his other best-seller, American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. In his new work, Tim weaves together the expert observations of a skilled journalist with the insights of an American who grew up as a practicing Christian and the son of an evangelical pastor.

This weekend, movie-goers across the country are making their way to theaters for the new film “God & Country,” the latest project from Rob Reiner exploring the role of Christian nationalism in American society. Among the experts featured in that film is scholar and author Dr. Anthea Butler, who provides an important academic perspective on this anti-democratic ideology that is quickly permeating all corners of society. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by Anthea Butler to dissect the intersections of white Christian nationalism in both religious and political spheres, so that we can work towards fostering a society that values religious diversity and upholds the principles of equality and justice for all. “I think the first thing people can do is to not say ‘vote,’ but to actually participate. What I mean by that is that it's important to vote. It's important to get people registered to vote. But if you think voting is the only thing that's going to do it, you are sorely mistaken.” - Dr. Anthea Butler, a leading scholar of African American religion and history, nationalism, race, politics, and popular culture. The author of White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, Dr. Butler sounds a warning in “God & Country” about the direction Christian nationalism is taking this country - and how hard it may be to ever come back. Dr. Butler is the Geraldine R. Siegel Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

The intertwining of religious dogma with political power not only undermines the fundamental principles of separation of government and religion, but also poses a grave risk to American democracy. Recognizing the urgency to address this growing concern, legendary actor, director and producer Rob Reiner has teamed up with director Dan Partland to create “God & Country,” a groundbreaking new documentary film on the rise and dire threat of Christian nationalism to Christianity itself. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio program and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush sits down with Rob and Dan for a special episode to discuss how the film can serve as a vital tool to safeguard democratic ideals in the face of evolving Christian nationalist threats. “I didn't really even know about the term ‘Christian nationalism.’ What I did know was that there was a movement, a political movement, designed to do whatever it took to get certain ideas and certain policies across, and I knew it was very powerful in the Christian community – but I didn't know the term Christian nationalism. I knew there was a strong political movement; I didn't realize how strong and how organized it was.” - Rob Reiner, Emmy award-winning actor and director; producer of “God & Country.”“I think the first challenge for the film is just for people to understand what Christian nationalism is, what those terms mean, because at first glance, they both sound like very nice things to be: to be a real patriot, you know, to believe in your country and to believe in your faith. Those don't seem like bad things. So the first goal of the film really has to be to define it.” - Dan Partland, Emmy award-winning director of “God & Country.” His other films include “#UNFIT. The Psychology of Donald Trump.”  “God & Country” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, February 16, 2024.

As we mark the beginning of Black History Month, it’s crucial we discuss issues that sit at the intersection of historic struggles for justice and equality, including protecting democracy. Black communities and thought leaders have long been at the forefront of movements advocating for civil rights and equal representation, striving to address systemic challenges that threaten the very foundation of democracy. By examining the importance of safeguarding democratic values during Black History Month, we acknowledge the pivotal role Black individuals and communities have played in shaping the fight for political and social justice. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, academic and author Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. joins Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to discuss how we can draw lessons from the past to build a more inclusive and equitable future for all. “What we need to do is to understand our power. And so what I do is I offer a pragmatic reading of the prophetic, of the heroic, and of the democratic. I argue that the prophetic is located in each of us, and it's located in our ability to exercise our imaginations: to see beyond the constraints of now, and to imagine what's possible, to engage in that dramatic rehearsal in pursuit of the good. And so these lectures are really about disrupting this idea that we can outsource our responsibility for democracy to others. That if we're going to save this fragile experiment in this moment, we're going to have to do it.” Dr. Glaude is a leading American scholar, a popular commentator, and the best-selling author of books including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, and Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Time, winner of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Book Prize. He is James S. McDonald Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, and former chair of the Department of African American Studies there, as well as the former president of the American Academy of Religion. His next book, due out April 16, 2024, is titled We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For.

As we observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day this weekend, elevating interfaith solidarity is even more important, especially with the recent unparalleled rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia around the world and right here at home. This occasion, dedicated to commemorating the survivors and lives lost during one of the darkest periods in human history, serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of hatred and discrimination. Amidst the ongoing devastating violence in the Middle East, fostering understanding and unity among diverse religious communities takes on added significance. By embracing interfaith dialogue and collaboration, we can contribute to breaking down barriers and building empathy. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rabbi Abby Jacobson and Imam Imad Enchassi join host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to discuss recognizing the shared humanity among different religious groups as not only a gesture of solidarity but also a step toward finding common ground in the fight for justice. Rabbi Abby Jacobson is the rabbi at Emanuel Synagogue in Oklahoma City. She's the former president and a long-time board member of Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma. “I refuse to allow us to be pitted against each other, because there is not a daily quota of compassion, because everybody's children need to be safe, and everybody needs to be happy sleeping in their own beds,” said Rabbi Jacobson. “It is not only possible, but I think mandatory to be pro-Palestinian health, human rights, dignity, sovereignty, and everything else, and at the same time also be pro-Israel. Those two shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. And we’re all just talking about what human beings need. We would be having fewer arguments, and there, I believe, would be less anger and hurt if we were not being further divided by a narrative of us versus them, because I don't think we should have to compete for compassion or news time, because everybody's children are important.” Dr. Imad Enchassi is the chairman of Islamic Studies, chaplain, and professor at Oklahoma City University. He serves as Imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. “What gives me hope is the simple fact that throughout conflict and war, there's this human being, this is a spirit of humanity that is shining upon all of us,” said Imam Enchassi. “When I lose family in Gaza and the local rabbis and the local Jewish community send me condolences and send me a fruit basket and give me condolences, I have hope in humanity. I have hope in humanity when I see different countries coming together to bring humanitarian aid. I have hope in humanity when people are weeping, on one side of the world, for other people on the other side of the world, perhaps they have nothing in common except their humanity. There's always that human that's going to shine, and there's always that human that's going to prevail. And for that I have hope.” Hear from Rabbi Jacobson and Imam Enchassi on this and much more in this week’s episode.

In times of conflict and division, we all look for inspiration in different places. And for so many, it’s faith and spirituality that sustains us, drawing us closer to community and helping us to find meaning even when the world around us feels hopeless. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with Rabbi Sharon Brous about her timely new book, connection, and showing up for each other. “What I'm trying to do with this book is essentially say, in this time of the loneliness epidemic, social alienation, isolation, so much human cruelty, polarization, ideological extremism: can we see one another and say ‘amen’ to each other's experience, including not just in church and in synagogue and in the mosque, but when we see somebody who's weeping on the subway, can we go over and say, ‘hey, I see that you're not okay right now. Can I ask you, what happened to you? What's happening in your heart? Do you want to share?’” - Rabbi Sharon Brous Rabbi Brous is a leading voice in reanimating religious life in America. She’s the founding and senior rabbi at IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles dedicated to invigorating Jewish practice and inspiring people of faith to reclaim a soulful, justice-driven voice, and senior fellow at Auburn Seminary. Rabbi Brous recently published a new book, The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend our Broken Hearts and World, which brings together Jewish wisdom and contemporary science to celebrate the fundamental human need for connection, and show how meeting this need can give us hope in a fragmented, isolated age.

A critical election year is already in full swing, and faith communities have an important role to play to help protect democracy. Yet some communities are suffering extreme polarization in the face of the Israel-Hamas conflict, while others struggle with the ongoing threat of Christian nationalist propaganda. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush speaks with Duke University Professor Imam Abdullah Antepli and scholar and author Warren Throckmorton about interfaith relations and the revisionist history that influences Christian nationalist propaganda. “We have to step back and ask: what made our American universities great in the first place? What made American universities better than most other higher education institutions around the globe? Where freedom of speech, the First Amendment, and this broad spectrum of ideas civilly and constructively engage - and clash. But again, not in a violent or toxic way. We have to sort of strengthen those foundational pillars and ideals.” - Imam Abdullah Antepli, Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at the Duke University Divinity School and the Sanford School of Public Policy. Abdullah is a globally acknowledged scholar and leader of cross-religious and cross-cultural dialogue in American higher education and the not-for-profit world. “We have a diverse nation. And there wasn’t nearly as much diversity at the time of the founding, but there was some. And you have to look at what the Founders did together when they crafted the Constitution. You have all these Founders from states with establishments and established religions, but what did they do? They didn’t establish a religion. They didn’t have a religious test. I mean, they did everything differently than what they had in their state. So what they did together and came together to do is what we should follow as our example, not what they did in their states.” - Warren Throckmorton, co-author, Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Our Third President and host of the new podcast “Telling Jefferson Lies.”

The new year presents a chance to reflect on significant issues for our society and democracy. In this election year, and on the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, we reflect on democratic ideals and the challenges that still lie ahead, especially as threats like Christian nationalism put our democracy at risk. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, U.S. Representative Don Beyer joins host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to discuss the importance of faith-inspired political action to bring about a more resilient and just society.  “I've read recently that the old governor of Arkansas said, if Trump doesn't win the next election, all elections will be settled with bullets rather than ballots. I don't believe that. I still spend all the time in the community. I only meet good people across the political spectrum. I'm friends with many, many conservative Republicans in the House who I don't agree with how they would approach immigration or guns or abortion, but they're still good people. You know, they love their families. They wouldn't lie to me or try to hurt me. They have different ideas about how to make the world a better place. But I still have a deep faith that our country's best days lie ahead.” - Rep. Beyer shares why witnessing the January 6 insurrection didn't shake his hope for American democracy. Representative Don Beyer (VA-8) has served in Congress since 2015. He is a leader in the fight against hate and bias, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, and is a leader on issues regarding religious freedom, having introduced the Freedom of Religion Act in 2016. Additionally, his leadership on the Jabara Heyer NO HATE Act of 2021 created critical resources for the Department of Justice to support local law enforcement in fighting hate crimes. Rep. Beyer is the senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, and is a member of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, which importantly works to keep religion out of government. 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.

It’s the final hours of 2023! As we prepare to turn the page to the New Year on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio program and podcast, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is joined by a guest who uses skills honed as a successful entertainer to promote a deeply spiritual message. "We have to move spirituality from the church and the yoga class and move it into the world where we're using spiritual tools to relieve the suffering of others, to increase compassion and build community." – Rainn Wilson The last guest on The State of Belief this year is Emmy-award nominated actor, producer and author Rainn Wilson. Known to millions as Dwight on the hit series The Office, Rainn has gone on to roles in a long list of movies – but more relevant for us is the work he’s done in promoting open-hearted dialogue about what it means to be human, both with his media company and best-selling books like Soul Pancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions, and Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Rainn also has a series on Peacock called The Geography of Bliss, and will soon be starting a podcast based on the ideas explored in Soul Boom. Paul thinks that few people in America have done more for spirituality in our country than Rainn has, and the conversation ranges from how Rainn’s Baha’i faith informs his work, to his years as an Atheist, to how we need more Star Trek expressions of religion to complement our tendency toward Kung Fu expressions of religion, to where he finds hope for today.

It may feel like there's little to laugh about these days... But the fact is, seeking out joy and amusement is even more important when things seem grin. This key to emotional resilience is just one part of the ground we cover on this week’s The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, as host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes Rev. Susan Sparks, who says her mission is to change the world - one smile at a time. "It's all about just finding common ground, which is something we so desperately need. And humor helps us do that. Because if we laugh together, you and I share something right then - because we both understand the premise of the joke." - Rev. Susan Sparks, preacher, lawyer, and stand-up comedian. Susan is Senior Pastor at Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City, and the best-selling author of books like Laugh Your Way to Grace and Miracle On 31st Street. Also, Paul shares some personal thoughts for the holiday season.

Religious freedom is measured by how free individuals are to pursue minority beliefs... And that measure is particularly noteworthy for the freedom to follow an entirely secular set of values. This week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Gary McLelland of Humanist International, and Nicole Carr of the American Humanist Association about the 2023 Freedom of Thought Report. We also hear from two award-winning religion journalists, Adelle Banks and Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service. Each brings their top five religion news stories from the past year, as well as thoughts on the themes most likely to make headlines in 2024. “Our vision is that freedom of religion and belief is a mainstream human right…The idea that religious rights can trump, for example, the rights of women, of LGBT folks, etc. If we can push forward the human rights of all, including religion and belief minorities and others, that really will benefit everybody.” – Gary McLelland, Chief Executive at Humanist International. “One of the things that gives me a lot of hope is the spectrum of people and groups who are joining arms to try to protect the country against Christian nationalism. And it's as much people of faith who are doing it as humanists and atheists.” - Nicole Carr, Interim Executive Director, American Humanist Association. “Clergy have to deal with people divided, not just about the direction of their denomination of their faith group, but just all of these cultural issues. And it's like it's an added job description for these clergy that they have to try to help people through.” - Adelle Banks, Religion News Service Project Editor and National Reporter. “Folks espousing forms of Christian nationalism are either yelling at school boards or being elected to school boards. And we're seeing various different groups revving up for this 2024 election in ways that kind of have sparked elements of Christian nationalism, various churches and candidates.” - Jack Jenkins, author and Religion News Service National Reporter; author, American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country. 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.

House Speaker Mike Johnson comparing himself to Moses while describing his divine call to the third most powerful office in the land stood out even as he accepted the National Association of Christian Lawmakers’ American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage. How can leaders prioritize democracy for all when their overt fealty is to a fundamentalist vision of a Christian nation? That’s the question host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush explores this week on The State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast – along with strategies for organizing communities of resistance and resilience. “We believe that all citizens have the right and responsibility to advocate for in government, to the government – so you have the right and responsibility regardless of faith - we’re equal citizens. The problem is when you’re doing so in order to enact and privilege one particular faith in ways that are going to harm others and in ways that are at odds with that principle of equal citizenship and equal rights to bring your religion to the public square.” – Holly Hollman, General Counsel and Associate Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Holly is a leading expert on Church-State issues and how Congress, the courts, and administrative agencies address them. She is also the co-host of BJC’s Respecting Religion podcast series. “We are in a very polarized time, and people are very reactionary. And we need to remember our common bonds so that we can fight back against our common enemy - which, as we’ve discussed, is coming from this Christian nationalist playbook. So it’s just so important during this time for people of faith to come together and find common ground so that we can mobilize and speak out with a unified voice.” – Darcy Hirsh, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at Interfaith Alliance. Darcy is an attorney and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. She is at the forefront of Interfaith Alliance’s work on Capitol Hill to combat Christian nationalism and the political leaders driven by its agenda. Paul also responded to Speaker Johnson's Moses moment with some comments in an Instagram video. You can watch that reel here. 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.