At times, it may seem as if our elected representatives are paying more attention to special interests than to the voters who put them in office. But media focus may play as big a role in that perception as reality does – and this week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, Rabbi Jack Moline, President of Interfaith Alliance, fills in for host Rev. Welton Gaddy to speak directly to one such lawmaker, as well as to influential activists on political religious right and LGBTQ issues.
As signs of a growing climate crisis such as Hurricane Dorian get more frequent and devastating, more leaders, scientists, and activists are speaking out about the destructive and deadly effects this crisis will have. Young advocates, from Greta Thunberg to the Sunrise Movement, have successfully pushed the issue of climate change into the spotlight. And while the administration seems committed to indifference or outright denial of the situation, there are elected officials who refuse to stay silent. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the junior Democratic Senator from Rhode Island, will join Rabbi Jack Moline to discuss his work combating the climate crisis and how religious rhetoric plays a role.
For years, we have been a part of efforts to expose the political religious right’s attack on the separation of Church and State in this country. Nowhere is this more evident than with Project Blitz, a sophisticated legislative and cultural campaign aimed at injecting Christians-first theocratic principles into our democracy. Jack is joined by Fred Clarkson, Senior Research Analyst with Political Research Associates to discuss Project Blitz, its ties to the Family Research Council, and efforts to expose and counter this anti-democratic campaign of influence.
Mental heath professionals have long known that the practice of “conversion therapy” is not only medical quackery, but a damaging and potentially deadly practice. This week, a leading practitioner of pray-away-the-gay, McKrae Game, publicly renounced his work… And came out as gay himself. Ross Murray, Senior Director of Education and Training at the GLAAD Media Institute, returns to State of Belief to explain the very real damage so-called ex-gay therapy does to LGBTQ individuals and their families.
