Happy Memorial Day Weekend! As we pause to remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice defending the rights we all treasure, State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, takes a look at the protection and expansion of those rights. The majority of people of faith celebrate the inherent dignity and worth of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Religious freedom and equality are complementary – not contradictory – values, but bad faith actors on the religious right continue to wage dehumanizing attacks on LGBTQ+ people. This week we will look into the faith-based movement to protect LGBTQ+ civil rights, as well as other challenges to – and of – diversity.
Earlier this year, a classroom ban on the practice of yoga that dates all the way back to 1993 was finally ended by the Alabama state legislature. The catch? It also bans instruction on its Hindu roots – which some see as cultural appropriation. Mat McDermott, senior director of communications at the Hindu American Foundation, will join Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief, to discuss important ways to walk this fine line.
As we stand on the threshold to Pride Month in June, we couldn’t wait to get started on our coverage of faith-related stories impacting the community. Rev. Gaddy will sit down with Don Abram, who leads the grassroots initiative Pride in the Pews, to discuss the conception of his project, and his work to promote inclusion of LGBTQI+ individuals in the American Black Church.
Administrations come and go, but it seems attempts to undermine the Constitutional promise of religious freedom for all continues in ways great and small, no matter who’s in charge. Interfaith Alliance President Rabbi Jack Moline will join Welton to discuss the organization’s ongoing fight to protect religious freedom for all.
State of Belief is made possible in great part by the generous support of our listeners. Please consider making a donation to help keep us on the air at this critical time. Details can be found at our donations page here.
