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Rainn Wilson, a Baha'i in Hollywood

Wed, Nov 19 Listen

Nerdy, Bright and Baha'i Actor Rainn Wilson is best known for playing loners, oddballs and weirdos. Exhibit A: Dwight Schrute, the abrasive nerd-in-residence on NBCs The Office. Dwights interests include beet farming, science fiction movies and violent weaponry of all kinds. In real life, Rainn is a devout Baha'i, and this week he lets us in on how he balances his 'Office' life with his faith life. Rainn Wilson, star of The Office and The Rocker Defying Rome, Finding Peace Begins at 22:50 A...

Interview with an (Ex)Vampire Writer

Wed, Nov 12 Listen

Anne Rice, 'Called Out of Darkness' You probably know Anne Rice as a Gothic novelist who trades in witches, blood and all things horror. But you might not know that 10 years ago she renounced her dark past, coming to see cult classics like Interview with the Vampire and The Witching Hour as describing her own quest for God. In 2005 she began writing novels about the life of Christ, trying to bring the Gospelsnot vampiresinto living color. Now Anne Rice has written a new memoir, describing...

The Apocalypse That Didn't Come

Wed, Nov 5 Listen

Religion in an Underground Bunker What happens when you think the world is coming to an end....and it doesn't? On March 15th, 1990, 750 members of a fringe religious sect braced themselves for the end of the world by nuclear holocaust. When midnight struck... nothing happened. In the aftermath, they were forced to re-examine everything they knew about their leader, Elizabeth Claire Prophet (pictured.) Erin Prophet, author of Prophets Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the...

Election Un-Ethics

Thu, Oct 30 Listen

Fuzzy Ethics 2008 Attack ads. Rivers of money flowing into candidates war chests. Charges of registration fraud and voter suppression. Sound bites flung around like ammo. All this funny business may be hurting our nations politics and its soul. Rev. Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause, former member of Congress from Pennsylvania Free Thinking About Politics Begins at 22:40 If theres one group of voters happy to see religion brushed aside this election, its the non-theists: seculars,...

A Conservative and a Democrat, On Religion at the Ballot Box

Thu, Oct 23 Listen

Voting With a Conscience This week, we sit down with two religious thinkers to talk about the issues that matter to people of faith. They grapple with the moral questions raised by everything from abortion to war to environmentalism and remind us that no one party or candidate will claim this year's values voters. Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University Dr. Richard Land, Vice President of the Ethics and Religious...

Shalom Auslander: Incurably, Miserably Religious

Thu, Oct 16 Listen

Bargaining with God Shalom Auslander has got a bone to pick with God. Raised an Orthodox Jew, he reflects on what he learned about the Big Man Upstairs an angry god who writes rules, punishes you for eating a cheeseburger, and walks around drunk in His underwear. Shalom Auslander, author of Foreskins Lament How the Financial Meltdown Hurts the Poor Begins at 22:49 Wall Street in turmoil, banks with no money and one whopper of a bailout. The economic crisis dominates the headlines, but the...

"Four Gods" at the Voting Booth

Thu, Oct 9 Listen

How God Predicts Our Politics This election season, pollsters have been trying to get a grip on the Catholic vote, the Jewish vote, and the Evangelical vote but maybe theyve been asking the wrong questions. A study by Baylor University suggests that its not your religion that determines how you vote, so much as the way you imagine Gods personality. Is your God warm and fuzzy or down right angry? Dr. Christopher Bader, assistant professor of sociology at Baylor University Einstein's God Begins...

Dreaming in the World's Religions

Thu, Oct 2 Listen

The Wondering Brain Think back to the most vivid dream youve ever had. Was it scary, wonderful, or just plain weird? Did you try to figure out what it meant for your everyday life? As dreaming, thinking creatures, we have always asked ourselves these questions, and we have long looked to religion to provide the answers. One of the most profound religious visions of all time was recorded in the 6th century, when Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly... or did the butterfly...

Just Say No to "Religious Tolerance"?

Thu, Sep 25 Listen

Setting a Higher Bar Religious tolerance may sound warm and fuzzy, but that doesn't cut it for Gustav Niebuhr. Mere tolerance of other faiths feels begrudging, he says, and we can do better. The good news is, people do--every day. Niebuhr tells us the stories you won't find in police reports or press releases, stories of ordinary people searching for common ground.Gustav Niebuhr, author of Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America The Capital Sins of Wall Street...

Margot Adler, Redefining the "Witch Word"

Thu, Sep 18 Listen

Witches, Goddesses and Public Radio Margot Adler stands out in two worlds that we, admittedly, find pretty interesting-- public radio and paganism. Radio junkies know her as an NPR reporter and master storyteller. And pagans consider her a preeminent scholar of earth-based religion. The former Jewish-atheist joins us to talk about the changing perception of the witch word, the sacredness of the earth, and why if you look far enough back, all of us come from a Pagan heritage. Margot Adler,...

A Tale of Two Conventions

Thu, Sep 11 Listen

Rev. Jim Wallis, Bridging the God Gap Both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions were ripe with God talk this year. Rev. Jim Wallis spoke at both conventions, and he reports back on how the parties played the faith card. He argues that religious leaders on both sides need to hold their parties to higher moral standards not just be the parties cheerleaders. Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and president of Sojourners, author of The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a...

Jeff Sharlet on "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of Amer

Thu, Sep 4 Listen

Blood Runs Thick in The Family A little-known Christian network that takes leadership cues from Hitler and Mao may seem like the stuff of conspiracy theories, but our guest Jeff Sharlet (pictured) insists that The Family's political clout is real. Best known for sponsoring the annual high-profile National Prayer Breakfast, this secretive group has impacted public policy since it sponsored anti-New Deal legislation in the 1930s and gives all the credit to God. Jeff Sharlet, author of The...

Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't

Wed, Aug 27 Listen

Can You Pass the Religious Literacy Test? If you think the Hail Mary is only a football move, read on... Though America is the most religious nation in the developed world, when it comes to basic religious knowledge, we are amazingly clueless. Stephen Prothero, author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesnt, offers a controversial solution: require world religion classes in all public schools. Stephen Prothero, chair of the Religion department at Boston...

Saddleback: Rounding Up the Evangelical Vote

Thu, Aug 21 Listen

A Purpose-Driven President? Rev. Rick Warren was the amiable emcee at last Saturdays Civil Forum on the Presidency, featuring presumptive presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain. He is the pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch, in a year when the evangelical vote is reportedly shifting. Since the 1980s, this voting bloc has focused on issues like abortion and gay marriage, but this year, the agenda has broadened to include issues like poverty and the environment....

Religious Freedom (Or Lack Thereof) in China

Thu, Aug 14 Listen

They Even Edit the Bible To the Chinese government, religion is a potential national security threat, not a divine gift. Joseph Grieboski explains how this thinking leads to the persecution of Catholic and Protestant churches, repression of groups like Uighur Muslims and the Falun Gong, and even attempts to edit the Bible. Joseph Grieboski, Executive Director, Institute on Religion and Public Policy President of the Poor? Begins at 22:50 Paraguays new president, Fernando Lugo, is something of...

The Wisdom and Spirituality of Aging

Thu, Aug 7 Listen

Sister Joan Chittister, On Growing Old Gracefully Should we fear our capstone years, or cherish them? Sister Joan Chittister, author of over 40 books on spirituality and social justice, argues the latter. Now 72, Chittister says this is a time to celebrate our wisdom, to revel in our freedom from a tight schedule, and most of all, to melt into God. Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, author of The Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully, executive director of Benetvision: a Resource and Research Center...

Finding the 'Middle Way' Between China and Tibet

Thu, Jul 31 Listen

Why the Dalai Lama Matters He's the Mahatma Gandhi of today, and the most visible and eloquent advocate of a nonviolent approach to world affairs. That's how Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman defines the importance of the Dalai Lama on the world stage today, where he is the advocate of a middle way in the tense struggle between his native Tibet and the People's Republic of China. Robert Thurman, author of Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the...

Probing the Minds of One Billion Muslims Worldwide

Thu, Jul 24 Listen

What 1.3 Billion Muslims Really Think After 9/11, Washington policy makers seemed utterly in the dark about Muslims' reactions to the attacks. Did they support terrorism? Did they truly hate America? And indeed, what were their fears, values and hopes in general? Dalia Mogahed, of the Gallup poll, decided to find out, leading the most comprehensive survey of Muslims worldwide ever conducted. Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies,...

The Enduring, Mixed Legacy of Rev. Billy Graham

Thu, Jul 17 Listen

A Critical Look at the Pastor to PresidentsRev. Billy Graham, that Southern Baptist minister with movie star-good looks and a booming voice, is arguably the most influential public preacher of our time. Over his six decade career, the 89-year-old has counseled every U.S. president since Harry Truman and has filled stadiums with millions of followers all over the world. But with his late criticism of the Vietnam war and past anti-Semitic statements, the charismatic preacher isn't loved by all....

Bob Abernathy, Reflecting On a 'Life of Meaning'

Mon, Jul 7 Listen

Interviewing the InterviewerFrom Jimmy Carter to Thich Nhat Hanh, hundreds of religious luminaries have sat across the table from affable PBS host Bob Abernethy. Now, in a new book, Abernethy shares the collective wisdom of over sixty of them, drawn from a decade's worth of interviews on PBS Religion Ethics NewsWeekly. Bob Abernathy, co-editor of The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World Hitchens and Doerr On Why 'God is Not Great'Back by popular demand, it's...

A Silent Tsunami: The Global Food Crisis

Thu, Jul 3 Listen

A Moral EmergencyEvery major faith tradition in the world tells its followers they have a moral obligation to feed the hungry. But with food prices continuing to skyrocket, that imperative has been pretty tough to follow. The spikes have set off protests from Haiti to Indonesia, and the poorest of the poor those billion or so people who have trouble filling their stomachs even in normal times are getting desperate. David Beckman and Marie Dennis tell us what people of faith need to do to...

Bishop Gene Robinson, 'In the Eye of the Storm'

Thu, Jun 26 Listen

The Soft Spoken Iconoclast Just two weeks after his civil union with his partner of 20 years, Bishop Gene Robinson remains a lightning rod of controversy. As the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, he has polarized parishes throughout the country, prompting several to leave the church altogether. But as Robinson tells us this week, his quest for equality in his church is a faith-filled mission - and is worth the hardship. God, he says, calls us to do the hard things.Bishop Gene...

Rooting Out Prejudice, One Story At a Time

Thu, Jun 19 Listen

Confronting Religious Bias What do evangelical Christians, atheists, Muslims, and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright have in common? The tendency to be misunderstood and stereotyped by outsiders. It's a big-scale problem, and the National Coalition Building Institute, or NCBI, is offering a powerful solution that changes hearts and instutions: start with your own prejudice, and then confront others'. The non-profit creates what it calls prejudice reduction workshops seminars where people reveal the...

Our Live Public Forum on Religion in the 2008 Election

Thu, Jun 12 Listen

From Mitt Romney's Mormon faith to John McCain and Barack Obama's pastor problems, religion has played an outsized - and surprising - role in this year's campaigns. This week we devote our entire show to our live public forum on faith in Election 2008, taped at the All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, DC, on June 4th. What an exciting night it was! Featuring: Imam Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of MAS Freedom, the civic and human rights advocacy entity of the Muslim American SocietyRev....

Turkey's Champion of Interfaith Dialogue

Thu, Jun 5 Listen

Fethullah Gulen, Turkey's Most Famous PreacherMeet the man whos in a category with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mother Teresa but is almost unknown in the West. This highly influential Muslim writer and preacher has inspired people across Turkey and now the world to build top-notch schools, engage in interfaith dialogue and champion religious freedom. Dr. B. Jill Carroll, Executive Director of the Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice...

Carolyn Jessop: Spilling the Secrets of a Polygamist Sect

Thu, May 22 Listen

Escape From Plural Marriage At 18, Carolyn Jessop was forced to become the fourth wife of a man nearly three times her age. Jessop was born into The Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamist sect made infamous by the tyrannical leadership of Warren Jeffs. The group broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church. In 2003, at 35 years old, Jessop fled the sect with her eight children and only $20 in her pocket. She...

Frank Schaeffer: A Crisis of Faith

Thu, May 15 Listen

The Religious Right's Wayward SonFrank Schaeffer spent his early career in the evangelical royalty--as a 700 Club regular and the son of a famous Christian theologian. In his recent memoir, Crazy For God, Schaeffer reflects on his bittersweet life inside the movement-- and why he eventually decided he was working with crazy people. Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God: How I Was Born as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All - or Almost All - of it Back...

Understanding Black Liberation Theology

Wed, May 7 Listen

Rev. Wright's TheologyRev. Jeremiah Wrights sermons and public comments have been called incendiary and inflammatory. The former pastor to Sen. Barack Obama has said that Americans would think differently about his sound bytes, if only we understood the theology he was drawing from, specifically Black Liberation Theology. This hour, we look at Black Liberation Theology a theology founded in the 1960s but whose roots extend back to the African-American experience of slavery. Adherents teach...

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Thu, May 1 Listen

Suffering: God's ProblemIts one of the worlds oldest questions: If God is all powerful, and loving and caring, why does God permit suffering? Religious scholar Bart Ehrman reviewed the major biblical answers to this question, and found them all wanting. Among the most famous Biblical passages on the subject is the story of Job, an innocent man inflicted with great misfortune (depicted in a painting by William Blake, left.) Bart Ehrman, Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University...

Understanding Sharia Law

Thu, Apr 24 Listen

Why Sharia? Sharia law--when the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed using a limited form of it in Britain, the country backlashed. But millions of Muslims worldwide say they want the legal code to govern their lives, and Islamic parties often win elections with sharia as part of their platforms. So, the question arises: if its so bad, why do people want it? Noah Feldman offers his answers in a new book that explores the origins, history and contemporary reality of sharia law. Noah Feldman,...

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