Interfaith Voices Podcast (hour-long version)

Women don’t always feel welcome in American mosques. They’re sometimes turned away, sent to basements to pray, or discouraged from serving on the boards of directors. Aisha al-Adawiya has devoted her life to changing that. She’s inspired a national campaign — and a fatwa — that’s persuading the men who control mosques to share space and power. Our partners at "The Spiritual Edge" brought this story to us.

Many Americans feel disillusioned with formalized religious institutions, yet their hunger for spiritual comfort remains. Enter, the Nearness, a year-old online space where people of all faiths and no faith can talk over the “big questions.” Nearness co-founder Casper ter Kuile talks about the importance of dedicated, judgment-free spaces for spiritual curiosity, and his own spiritual journey from atheism to Harvard Divinity School and beyond.

Elizabeth Reiner Platt, director of Columbia Law School’s Law, Rights and Religion Project discusses the implications of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in  303 Creative v Elenis . She explains why the controversial ruling extending First Amendment protections to a creative business creates a dangerous precedent opening the door for other potential challenges to anti-discrimination policies.  Platt reminds listeners of an earlier era in which businesses could explicitly reject people based on gender, religion and race to deny access to goods, services, and public accommodations.  Citing the 303 Creative ruling and hypotheticals presented during oral arguments, Platt notes that nothing in the decision limits its application to same-sex couples seeking to marry. 

In the first year of the global pandemic, COVID deaths among Native Americans were significantly higher than any other ethnic or racial group in America due to exceedingly poor public health infrastructure.  To combat the inequity, a group of public health workers in North Carolina led by Dr. David Tillman, supported by a grant from Interfaith America, worked to foster trusting relationships to tackle vaccine hesitancy and combat misinformation with the Coharie tribe in Sampson County.  Producer Monique Parsons of Interfaith America reports this story from North Carolina.

In June 2023, the Public Religious Research Institute released a new poll exploring America’s shifting public attitudes on gender, the role of inclusive policies and perceptions of fairness, and the recent attacks on policies that support transgender individuals.  Public Religion Research Institute’s CEO Dr. Melissa Deckman joins Ambereen Khan to discuss the findings and to review the shifts in attitudes especially among a surprising cohort -- younger Americans.  

In his book, God, the Best Seller , Stephen Prothro tells the story of  Eugene Exman, responsible for the religious book department at Harper and Brothers from 1928 to 1965. Prothro argues that Exman was partly responsible for the current trend toward “spirituality not religious.” The book highlights Exman’s role in publishing some of the most influential religion books of the 20th century — including The Perennial Philosophy by Aldi Huxley, essays on Zen Buddhism by DT Suzuki, The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day, and The Religions of Man by Houston Smith.

God the Bestseller

Harper Collins

Dr. Linda Mercadante a Distinguished Research Professor, Emerita, Methodist Theological School in Ohio. and founder of HealthyBeliefs discussed her journey from being "spiritual but not religious" to becoming a scholar of religion. She argues for more research and understanding into the growing numbers of Americans identifying as such. In her book, "Beliefs without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual But Not Religious," Mercadante shares her research findings from a listening tour across the US, Canada, Mexico, and beyond. She discovered that while sociologically, people identifying as “spiritual but not religious” are quite different, they share many common beliefs — including rejecting the word "God" while still believing in something bigger than themselves.

Belief Without Borders

Oxford University Press

Our theme Breath Deep is copyright MC Yogi .

This week's closing music, New Hope , by Audiobinger ,

used under a Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 license.

Additional music by Blue Dot Session .

Liam Adams, the religion reporter for The Tennessean in Nashville, introduces us to the complex religious landscape of the city, and talks about the response of the faith community to the Covenant School shooting. Many faith leaders are calling for gun reform – including leaders within conservative Christian faith traditions, and Governor Lee is listening.

Liam Adams . Religion reporter at the Tennessean in Nashville. Before, he freelanced stories about religion for Christianity Today , Religion News Service , and National Catholic Reporter