Segments
Political and religious observers are questioning the relevance and moral standing of the Religious Right in the aftermath of the sex abuse allegations against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s radio show and podcast, we’ll take a look at an increasingly influential group – Americans who are spiritual but not religious.
But first, we’ll discuss the latest revelations about so-called Ten Commandments judge Roy Moore. A darling of the Religious Right, new women have seemingly come forward each day to allege inappropriate, and likely illegal, sexual contact while they were minors. ThinkProgress religion reporter Jack Jenkins will join host Rev. Welton Gaddy to talk about the ongoing fiasco, including the release of an endorsement letter for Moore that used the names of clergy without their permission.
While the Religious Right continues to grab news headlines and shape government policy, the ranks of the religiously unaffiliated continue to grow. Public Religion Research Institute is out with an eye-opening and comprehensive study, “Searching for Spirituality in the U.S.: A New Look at the Spiritual but Not Religious.” Welton will speak with PRRI’s CEO Dr. Robert P. Jones about what his team learned from their research into the fastest-growing segment of the population.
American Muslim Health Professionals is taking on the epidemic of bullying across the country. The group is hosting the inaugural National Interfaith Anti-Bullying Summit. Welton will speak with Dr. Rukhsana M. Chaudhry, director of mental health programming for AMHP, about the summit, which is slated for December 2nd and 3rd in Washington, D.C. They’ll discuss the scope of the bullying problem and the very real damage it causes.
And we’ll hear a Word from Welton, remembering the Rev. Dr. John Raines, who passed away this week. Dr. Raines, an ordained Methodist minister, and his wife, Bonnie, were a part of the group who broke into an FBI office in Pennsylvania, leading to the exposure of the FBI’s notorious COINTELPRO initiative.
