- Home
- About the Show
- How to Listen
- About the Host
- The Staff
- Show Archive
- Blog Posts
- Contact Us
- Support Us
- Interfaith Alliance
Tune in this weekend to Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast State of Belief to learn what the failure to recall Wisconsin’s Scott Walker will mean nationally (if anything), find out why it may be the beginning of the end for Louisiana public schools, and hear from our good friend E.J. Dionne about our country’s divided political heart.
Wisconsin Wrap-up
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker managed to overcome a recall challenge this past week. Many talking heads have painted this as a warning for President Obama come the November election. But are they reading too much into it? And what else has been going on at the state level that might give us a better understanding of what’s going to happen this fall? Greg Lebel, presidential campaign survivor and assistant professor of Political Management at the George Washington University, joins Welton in the studio this week to help analyze that election and other campaign news. Click here for Extended Interview Video and Transcript.
State of the Louisiana Classroom
This week, Governor Bobby Jindal signed a sweeping school voucher bill that shifts massive tax dollars to private schools – many of which are under construction, or unabashedly religious. Dr. G. Pearson Cross, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, sits down with Welton to take a look at the beginning of the end of public education in Louisiana – as well as the process that made it possible, and the career prospects this might open up for Jindal. Click here for Extended Interview and Transcript.
Our Divided Political Heart
In the shoutfest that is cable news E.J. Dionne is a frequent and always thoughtful guest. He joins us this week to talk about his new book Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent and offers insights on the conflicts that overwhelm our politics and society today, as well as some thoughts on the current “religious liberty” lawsuits brought by Catholic institutions against the Obama administration. In addition to serving as a Washington Post opinion writer, he is a professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Click here for Extended Interview and Transcript.
By Ray Kirstein on June 7, 2012
This weekend on State of Belief Radio – Washington Post writer and commentator E. J. Dionne. His new book is Our Divided Political Heart: the Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent. We’ll get insights on the conflicts that overwhelm our politics and society today, as well as some thoughts on the current “religious liberty” lawsuits brought by Catholic institutions against the Obama administration.
When Scott Walker held onto his seat as governor of Wisconsin in the face of a widely-publicized recall election, many said it was a bad sign for Barack Obama. We’ll analyze that and other campaign news with George Washington University’s Greg Lebel.
And Welton will talk to Dr. G. Pearson Cross, head of the Political Science Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. They’ll take a look at the beginning of the end of public education in Louisiana thanks to a just-signed voucher program that funnels billions of dollars to private schools – many questionable, many intensely religious – the broadest such program in the country.
That’s all coming up – this weekend on State of Belief! Click here for ways to listen.
By Ray Kirstein on June 6, 2012
Ever since the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced its crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a group that brings together the leadership of 80% of US women religious, many outraged Catholics and supporters have spoken out in the defense of the nuns. The LCWR itself waited to respond until after a board meeting in late May, issuing a strongly-worded statement last week.
The Vatican-appointed overseer, Archbishop Peter Sartain, offered this response. (If you’d like to read the kinds of criticisms the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith unleashed on America’s women religious, the “Doctrinal Assessment” is available here.)
It will be a while before this goes anywhere; LCWR has a general membership meeting coming up in August. But one of the things LCWR is being condemned for is their association with groups that Rome sees as having “radical feminist tendencies.” On that list is NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, which The New York Times reports is hitting the road later this month with – yup, a bus full of nuns: (more…)
By Ray Kirstein on June 6, 2012
In a really interesting conversation, Welton and Einstein’s Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion author Dr. Steve Gimbel, Chair of the Psychology Department at Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg College, explore the influences of religious and cultural identity on the work of this intellectual giant. You’ll hear about some surprising parallels between some attempts to discredit Einstein’s work in his day so as to weaken his political influence, and similar attacks on science and reason today.
From the May 26th, 2012 State of Belief Radio program.
To read the transcript, please click here.