Latest Show January 24, 2015 – SCOTUS Eyes Marriage; Call to Prayer Blocked at Duke; New Leader at Interfaith Alliance

This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, our host, Rev. Welton Gaddy, speaks with his successor at the organization, Rabbi Jack Moline, the new executive director of Interfaith Alliance.

Welton will speak with Duke University’s Bruce Lawrence about a “Christian” backlash that led to the cancellation of a planned campus call to Muslim Friday prayers from the chapel tower.

We’ll also hear from Holly Hollman of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Aaron Sarver of the Campaign for Southern Equality about important cases in the current session of the Supreme Court.

An Eye on the Supreme Court
Nationwide marriage equality at last? The Supremes have agreed to hear four cases that analysts say could lead to just that. The Campaign for Southern Equality is the plaintiff in a current Fifth Circuit appeal on the issue, and Communications Director Aaron Sarver joins Welton to discuss possible outcomes. What about the religious freedom cases on the high court’s docket – is there a Hobby Lobby 2.0 on the way? Holly Hollman, General Counsel at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joins us to look at them, and analyze the unanimous guns-in-beards Holt v. Hobbs decision.

Outcry in Durham
The announcement of a planned three-minute broadcast of the Muslim call to Friday prayers on the campus of Duke University was met with ugly fearmongering and bigotry. Franklin Graham, who has a long history of divisive anti-Muslim rhetoric, even called on Duke alumni to withhold support from Duke over the inclusive gesture. Welton is joined by Rev. Dr. Bruce B. Lawrence, who has been at Duke for 40 years and founded the Islamic Studies Center at the University.

Meet Interfaith Alliance’s New Executive Director
Welton is joined by Rabbi Jack Moline, the new executive director of Interfaith Alliance. Jack will be a regular presence on the show, and this week we’ll focus on his background in interreligious activism as well as congregational ministry. Rabbi Moline recently represented Interfaith Alliance at the White House during the President’s State of the Union address, so we’ll get his firsthand impressions on both the tone and substance of a speech that included an encouraging focus on religious freedom.

Latest News

SCOTUS Eyes Marriage; Call to Prayer Blocked at Duke; New Leader at Interfaith Alliance – Next State of Belief!

By Ray Kirstein on January 24, 2015

circleonlyHere’s what’s coming up this weekend on State of Belief Radio –

Silencing the Muslim call to prayer at Duke University. We’ll talk to the founder of Duke’s Islamic Studies Center, the Rev. Dr. Bruce B. Lawrence.

Also, the Supreme Court makes a religious liberty ruling – and takes up marriage equality. We’ll hear from Holly Hollman of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty and Aaron Sarver, who’s with the Campaign for Southern Equality.

And, the State of the Union Address. Interfaith Alliance’s new Executive Director, Rabbi Jack Moline, was there. We’ll get his thoughts, and hear about the background of leadership and interreligious advocacy that brought him to this position.

Follow us on Facebook for updates and bulletins – and be sure to tune in! Here’s how to listen.

Forward Together; An Interfaith Pope?; Clean Water v. Ebola – Next State of Belief!

By Ray Kirstein on December 4, 2014

circleonlyHere’s what’s coming up this weekend on State of Belief Radio –

Racial issues are filling the headlines. We’ll focus on effective strategies in the pursuit for justice with the Rev. William Barber, founder of the Moral Monday Movement and head of the North Carolina NAACP. His new book is Forward Together: A Moral Message for the Nation.

Also, an interfaith pope? With interreligious initiatives in Turkey and across the globe, Pope Francis is engaging shared moral values in ambitious new ways, and we’ll discuss those efforts with Josephine McKenna of Religion News Service.

And the importance of clean water in fighting the Ebola epidemic in Africa. We’ll hear from Malcolm Morris of the Millennium Water Alliance and Living Waters International on efforts to expand access to safe water, and the Water for the World Act currently before Congress.

Be sure to visit us at stateofbelief.com – and be sure to tune in, for religion and radio done differently!

Follow us on Facebook for updates and bulletins – and be sure to tune in! Here’s how to listen.

“The Complementarity of Man and Woman”

By Jonathan Craig on November 22, 2014

Conservative faith leaders met at the Vatican this week for “The Complementarity of Man and Woman,” an interfaith colloquium espousing the benefits of living in traditional family arrangements. Welton speaks with Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, about what happened during the meeting and what it means as a follow-up to last month’s Synod on the Family. While the Synod focused on non-traditional families, the colloquium included no participants who were outwardly supportive of LGBT rights. Critics believe LGBT advocates were too quick to believe the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Francis would support non-traditional lifestyles.