We mourn with the Muslim community in New Zealand and around the world in the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks committed there this week. This week’s show begins with a brief meditation from Interfaith Alliance President Rabbi Jack Moline.
In the middle of growing division, this week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll hear stories of fostering community by building relationships offline and finding new ways to connect to our faith.
A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) headlined, “Across Lines of Party, Demographics, and Geography, Americans Broadly Support Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People,” finds that in spite of hateful rhetoric employed by politicians and the political religious right, the majority of Americans see no threat in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, majorities support legal protections no matter their political or religious backgrounds. To get a better understanding of the findings, State of Belief host Rev. Welton Gaddy will speak to the Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO and founder of PRRI.
When Yadira Thabatah converted to Islam, she encountered a problem that most devotees do not. Blind and homeschooling her children, she could not find a braille version of the Quran in English. We’ll hear about what happened next from Yadira, co-founder of the nonprofit Islam by Touch, an organization that publishes the Quran and other Islamic religious books in English braille.
Despite the multitude of ways for people to connect online, a growing number of us is feeling isolated and disconnected due to the lack of personal contact offline. The Secular Coalition for America is trying to change that. The SoCal Secular Leadership Summit was the first of three gatherings that are bringing together atheist, humanist and secular leaders to talk in-person about the issues facing the secular community and to organize for change. Welton will speak with Sarah Levin, director of grassroots and community programs for the Secular Coalition for America, to learn more about the inspiration for this program and what comes next.