This past week brought with it one of the most significant campaign shake ups that this election cycle has seen, with former Mayors Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg, as well as Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren, dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll look into how faith and identity have shaped — and will continue to shape — this election.
What started as a wide field of Democratic contenders has significantly narrowed. Many of these candidates ran historic races — including the small-town mayor turned first openly gay presidential frontrunner, Pete Buttigieg. Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson — the first openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire and current Vice President of Religion and Senior Pastor at the Chautauqua Institution — will join Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief, to reflect on the significance of Mayor Pete’s run.
This week, Virginia became the twentieth state — and the first southern state — to ban conversion therapy for minors. Welton will sit down with Adam Trimmer, the National Center for Lesbian Rights “Born Perfect” Virginia campaign ambassador, to discuss what this means for the state – and for LGBTQ+ persons victimized by the practice.
Since the start of its campaign, the Trump administration has defined itself with exclusionary policies and rhetoric, levying particular vitriol toward the Muslim community. Luckily, as long as the Trump administration has peddled hate, advocacy groups have stepped up to counter with facts, not fears. Raahima Shoaib, communications and marketing manager for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, will join Welton to discuss the work MPAC is doing in the leadup to this year’s election.
