Despite the continued revelations of scandalous behavior within the Trump administration, members of the religious right continue to attack anyone and everyone who dare question the president. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll take a look at the man next in line for the Oval Office, as well as the contenders for the White House in 2020.
Vice President Mike Pence said it himself: “I am a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican – in that order.” For someone who often advocates for the melding of his Christian faith and American politics, it is confounding to many how deferential he is to the president’s actions. Tom LoBianco, author of the new book Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House and longtime journalist covering Vice President Pence, will join Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief, to discuss what brought Pence to the White House – and how far it might ultimately take him.
Often, adherents to faith traditions face misconceptions and over-generalizations. For instance, when we talk of “Baptists,” many think only of the politicized Southern Baptist Convention; when in reality, Baptists are incredibly diverse in teachings and beliefs. Rev. Gaddy will sit down with Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, diocesan Bishop of Tbilisi, Georgia, and head of the city’s Peace Cathedral, to discuss his Georgian denomination of Baptists, and how he’s successfully pursued interreligious collaboration in a staunchly Orthodox Christian nation.
All eyes will be on Iowa ahead of the first-in-the-nation February, 2020 presidential caucuses. Luckily, Interfaith Alliance has boots on the ground, thanks to the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. Connie Ryan, the Iowa chapter Executive Director, will join Welton to dive deep into issues of religious liberty on the campaign, and how they are being talked about in the state ahead of the caucus.