The president launched his campaign with unambiguous scare-mongering rhetoric, promising to ban immigration from countries with majority Muslim populations. While his supporters and legal defenders argue it’s not a measure restricting a single faith group, he did say “total,” and he most definitely did say “Muslim.” Most courts have rightfully blocked this policy, but not all. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll hear how legislators in Congress are fighting back with a new ground-breaking piece of legislation.
Not unlike the historical “Southern Strategy” in which Republicans sought to drive a wedge between voters of different races in the 1960s to win elections, many on the right have led intentional efforts pushing for continued fear and loathing of LGBTQ Americans, particularly in the South. Yet, when you look more closely, there’s plenty of good news to be found in the South. Much of the credit for progress against bigotry goes to the tireless efforts of the Campaign for Southern Equality. State of Belief host Rev. Welton Gaddy will sit down with the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara about the struggle for progress and what the top priorities for 2019 are in the fight for equality.
This conversation is part of Whosoever You Love, our semi-monthly series affirming the worth and full value of LGBTQ persons within and beyond religion. Whosoever You Love is supported by the Arcus Foundation, which is dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony with one another and the natural world. Learn more about Arcus and its partners at ArcusFoundation.org. And find the entire series at www.whosoeveryou.love.
If you’ve found yourself overwhelmed by the news cycle and the state of affairs in our world, pastor, blogger and powerful voice in the resistance, John Pavlovitz has a new book out that may help. That book, Hope and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto, promises to be a rousing and inspirational guide for how we can band together, live more heroically (and meaningfully) and save the world. Welton will welcome John to the show this week to talk about his book and, as he offers on his popular blog, Stuff That Needs to Be Said.
From Muslim bans to transgender bans to threats to women’s rights, there’s been a lot for Interfaith Alliance and its partners to resist. Now there’s a growing body of legislation that we can actively support, including the Equality Act and the No Ban Act. Both measures have widespread support from a diverse group of faith communities. Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance, will join Welton this week on State of Belief to bring us up to speed on what’s happening on Capitol Hill.