What a year it’s been! A year ago, President Trump was inaugurated. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s radio show and podcast, we’ll take a look back at the Muslim Ban and the Women’s March. We’ll also dig into a recent Supreme Court (non)decision related to anti-LGBT measures disguised as a protection of religious freedom – and what that decision means about the state of religious liberty.

A week ago, thousands gathered on the mall for the annual anti-abortion protest. Four days later, to mark the first anniversary of the president’s inauguration, women took to the streets across the country for the second annual Women’s March. Jack Jenkins, national reporter for Religion News Service, will join host Rev. Welton Gaddy this week to explore the overlap in the two protests.  He’s the author of the recent widely-shared article: Anti-abortion Democrats navigate divide between March for Life and the Women’s March.

The United States Supreme Court took – or rather, failed to take – action on Mississippi’s notorious anti-gay religious freedom law earlier this month. Does this Supreme Court decision suggest a growing anti-gay bias disguised in a new understanding of “religious liberty”? Or is it too early to tell? To get to a better understanding of the legal issues at play in the Supreme Court’s decision, Welton will talk to Rabbi Jay Michaelson, an author, activist and attorney who writes widely on issues of religion, government and our legal system.

A year ago, in one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order that is now known as the “Muslim Ban.” It was a follow up on his promise of a total and complete ban on Muslims entering the United States – a nation with as strong a prohibition on religious discrimination as any nation on earth – while campaigning for President. Delays and court challenges have not protected millions from disrupted lives, upended plans, trampled dignity or inflamed fears. Many Americans of diverse faith backgrounds are standing with our beleaguered Muslim sisters and brothers. Welton will be joined this week by Patrick Carolan, executive director of the Franciscan Action Network, to talk about what they’re doing to mark the awful anniversary and stand in support of Muslims in America.

We’ll also get a Word from Welton on the painful absence of truth from our public discourse – and the harm that’s doing to each one of us as well as the nation as a whole.

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