Segments
This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rev. Welton Gaddy investigates some of the most intriguing and difficult stories in the religious world today. Tune in for a special dialogue with The Very Rev. Dr. Gary Hall and Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins on the religious implications of, and faith community’s response to, the situation in Ferguson. Hear from former Christian Coalition leader Joyce Elaine White about her struggle to leave the extremist Christianist world she called home for years, and learn about the shadowy World Congress of Families that has taken the Religious Right’s fight against LGBT equality across the globe. This is a jam-packed State of Belief episode you won’t want to miss. 
From Ferguson to Washington: Faith Leaders Respond
The shooting of Michael Brown and the protests that followed in Ferguson, Missouri have propelled issues of race and the criminal justice system into the national spotlight. This week, Welton sits down with two prominent faith leaders in our nation’s capital to discuss how they’ve seen their communities and colleagues respond. The Very Rev. Dr. Gary Hall, Dean of the Washington National Cathedral, will share how these events have affected his own ministry, and the Cathedral’s ongoing work on national public policy issues. The Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Senior Pastor at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC will explore how incidents such as this resonate in the African-American faith community. This conversation promises to be a rare opportunity to hear from such distinguished speakers on an issue of such importance.
Exposed: World Congress of Families, An American Organization Exporting Hate
With American law and public sentiment becoming more and more accepting of the LGBT community, the Religious Right has had to start exporting their vitriol and hate to other countries. This week, Welton sits down with Rebecca Parks of the Human Rights Campaign, who has recently authored a report diving into the secretive work of the so-called World Congress of Families. Titled, “Exposed: World Congress of Families, An American Organization Exporting Hate,” this groundbreaking report uncovers the WCF’s connections to everyone from the Family Research Council and their fundraising operation to Vladimir Putin and his anti-gay laws.
Forsaking Fundamentalism: Joyce Elaine White’s Exit From the Religious Right
Recently, investigative journalist Sarah Posner detailed the fascinating story of Joyce Elaine White’s life in a fundamentalist Christian sect, her rise to leadership in the Christian Coalition, and her eventual disavowal of both. On our show Welton will have the opportunity to sit down with Elaine and hear her perspective first hand. They’ll discuss her personal experience of religious fundamentalism, her time in the political Religious Right, and her diagnosis of the unique brand of religio-political conservatism coming out of Texas these days.
