Latest Show January 28, 2012

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Jessica Arons, director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Progress, discusses the many state-level initiatives challenging reproductive rights. Arons explores this trend, its origins and potential consequences and tells us what can be done about it.

Rev. Don Wilkey, pastor of the Onalaska First Baptist Church in Texas, tells us about the view from his front row seat watching politically organized religion in this year’s Republican presidential primary. Rev. Wilkey describes his experiences at recent religiopolitical events like Rick Perry’s “The Response” Rally. Governor Perry may be out of the running, but big decisions are still being made behind the scenes in the Lone Star State. 

Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and president of the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, shares with us her “Speak Truth to Power” global education initiative. She explains why she’s added an anti-bullying lesson plan to the curriculum, and how you can help bring it to your local schools.

Latest News

Gloves off: the truth about the Texas theocratic nexus

By admin on January 24, 2012

Rev. Welton Gaddy, as a longtime Baptist minister and a champion of keeping religion out of politics (and politics out of religion), has a unique history with some of the techniques and leaders of the rapidly growing Evangelical/Catholic alliance that, most recently, gathered several weeks ago in the Lone Star State to attempt to anoint an acceptable Republican Presidential candidate. These alliances are too powerful to be considered “fringe” anymore; the testimony of Rev. Gaddy’s experiences make this abundantly clear.

A transcript of this commentary is available here.

Downloadable audio of this commentary is available here.

And be sure to tune in this weekend to State of Belief Radio, as Rev. Gaddy continues exposing these threats to our secular system of government with the Rev. Don Wilkey, a Baptist pastor in Texas who has a front-row seat for all the shenanigans emanating from that state during this election season, despite Governor Rick Perry’s dropping out of the race.

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Some good TV coverage of religion in politics

By admin on January 16, 2012

It’s potentially encouraging that the mainstream media is shining more of a spotlight on the way religion is being used and abused in the current electoral cycle. Of course, the old saying “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” holds true when talking heads without much familiarity with the subject wade into the discussion. It’s easy to drift into speculation and assumption. That’s why it’s important who does the talking.

This is an issue central to our work; and one of the regular State of Belief Radio guests who brings objectivity and insight to it is Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO and Founder of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. And we were heartened to see mainstream media outlets calling on Dr. Jones to provide that same level of insight to their reporting.

 

January 13, 2012 – Hardball, MSNBC

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CNN, July 28, 2011

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An Interfaith Holiday Story

By William Blake on December 23, 2011

We are hosting a college classmate of my oldest son in our home. Having just graduated from college, she is in the area looking for a job. Z is a delightful person who happens to be Muslim. In the spirit of her faith tradition and the holidays, she wanted to volunteer over the holidays and thought it might be nice to do something on Christmas day. She came up with an opportunity, organized by the Jewish Community Center of Washington, DC to coordinate a group of volunteers to sing Christmas carols at a retirement community in Washington. Muslim woman, Jewish Community Center, Christmas caroling. Priceless!

Peace

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