Worse than Watergate?
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the White House with scandals including the response to the Benghazi attack, the Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press phone records and the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. While these scandals are significant, some Republicans are hyperbolically referring to them as “worse than Watergate.” Are these scandals a sign of the so-called second term curse? Or are they proof that far-right critics of the president were right all along? Greg Lebel, assistant professor of Political Management at George Washington University and our go-to expert on presidential politics, joins Welton to weigh in on the importance of these scandals and what they could mean for the Obama administration.

Mikey Weinstein, the “Anti-Christian Extremist”
On Monday, 59 sitting members of the United States House of Representatives sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, demanding answers regarding Pentagon officials meeting with “anti-Christian extremist” Mikey Weinstein. The right-wing press accused Hagel and the Pentagon of turning all policy-making that affects matters of faith in the armed forces over to Weinstein personally. An Air Force Academy graduate, former Air Force JAG officer and registered Republican, Weinstein is the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization that seeks to ensure the separation of church and state in the United States military. Weinstein joins Welton on State of Belief this week to address the allegations against him and the changing relationship between religious freedom and the military.

On-Air Responsibility
NBA player Jason Collins became the first openly gay professional athlete of a major sport when he came out on the cover of last month’s Sports Illustrated. Despite the fact that most media coverage of Collins’ announcement has been overwhelmingly positive, ESPN commentator Chris Broussard personally condemned homosexuality in an on-air broadcast as “walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.” In response to Broussard’s comments and a weak apology, the Religious Institute and Auburn Theological Seminary’s Groundswell network created an online petition to urge ESPN to be more responsible in how it portrays people of faith when it comes to social hot-button issues. Reverend John Vaughn, executive vice president of the Auburn Theological Seminary, will be on the show this week to discuss the petition and how he hopes sports media will handle stories like this in the future.

Churches, LGBT Inclusion and the Boy Scouts
When Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1920, it was actually in response to an existing group, the Christians-only “Boys Brigade.” So there is more than a little irony in some on the right opposing inclusivity initiatives in the BSA because some troops are sponsored by churches. They talk values – but what about the real, valid, sincere values of non-discrimination and inclusivity that many progressives subscribe to? This week, Welton welcomes Interfaith Alliance’s own Jay Keller, the dad of a former Boy Scout whose troop was one of those sponsored by a church – but a church which over 10 years ago first challenged – in writing – BSA’s exclusionary policies. CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW AND TRANSCRIPT

“Why Jason Collins’ Faith is Ignored… And Tebow’s Isn’t”
When NBA Jason Collins announced, “I’m Black and I’m Gay” on the cover of Sports Illustrated, there was an outpouring of support and cauldron of condemnation. But nobody talked about the fact that Collins’ announcement was couched in terms of his faith and values. Joining Welton this week to discuss that omission is writer T.F. Charlton, who explored the subject in an insightful piece for Religion Dispatches Magazine: “Why Jason Collins’ Faith is Ignored… And Tebow’s Isn’t.” CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW AND TRANSCRIPT

50 Simple Questions for Every Christian
What would move a non-believer to pen a book titled 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian? Irony? Audacity? The Holy Spirit? Well, author Guy P. Harrison, who labels himself an “optimistic skeptic,” gets the chance to answer that question, and share some of the questions in his book, when he joins us on this week’s show. (Spoiler alert: it’s a book of questions, not answers. But audacity is not an adjective you’ll use to describe this thoughtful but humble guest.)

Lauren Bush Lauren is the CEO, creative director and co-founder of FEED Projects, which through its sales has provided nearly 60 million meals to school children worldwide. Through FEED Projects, Lauren created an environmentally conscious product and business model.

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS (Sisters of Social Service) is the executive director of NETWORK and leads the Nuns on the Bus tour to highlight the work of Catholic Sisters to meet the needs of people at the economic margins.

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (D – Ill.), the first disabled woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian-American elected to Congress from Illinois, is an advocate for veterans and a more just economy.

Founding director of Groundswell at Auburn Seminary, Valarie Kaur also participated in the discussion, providing some important thoughts about how activism is evolving in this country – away from isolated tribes each fighting for their own cause, and towards seeing the causes of others as our own cause as well.

After Boston: Why Interfaith Efforts Matter More than Ever
All week long, details of the Boston marathon bombing, the investigation, and the arrest of the surviving suspect have dominated the headlines. An ongoing source of concern has been the revelation that both Tsarnaev brothers self-identified as Muslim. The response to that has ranged from renewed Islam-bashing on the part of some, to fears of renewed Islamophobic bias and violence, to declarations by several Muslim leaders that the suspects could not have been true followers of that faith. For those of us who work for interfaith understanding, these are indeed challenging times. Eboo Patel, a popular Muslim writer and organizer who founded the Interfaith Youth Corps in 2002, joins Welton this week to discuss why interreligious work is so crucial right now, as he described in his Huffington Post op-ed, 3 Reasons Interfaith Efforts Matter More Than Ever. CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT

After Boston: Fear of Indiscriminate Islamophobia
Filmmaker and civil rights activist Valarie Kaur has been working to counter faith-based prejudice since the attacks of 9/11. As a third-generation Sikh-American, she knows well that as inappropriate as indiscriminate Islamophobia always is, it also doesn’t prevent society’s fear and hatred of Muslim-Americans. As the founding director of Groundswell at Auburn Theological Seminary, she wrote an insightful piece for The Washington Post, For Sikhs and Muslims, fear after a terror attack on the very real fears some of our fellow Americans are experiencing since the revelation that the Tsarnaev brothers identified as Muslim. Valarie is on State of Belief this week with a broad view of what the events in Boston are likely to mean for all of us. CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT

After Boston: A Letter
“Dear Dzhokhar, You don’t know me, but you tried to kill my family,” begins the letter written by Rev. Mr. Michael Rogers, S.J. that has made the rounds in print and online after originally being posted on Facebook. The letter written by Deacon Rogers is a thought-provoking response to last week’s tragedy that demonstrates profound empathy and forgiveness. Just a few weeks away from his ordination as a Jesuit priest, Deacon Rogers joins Welton on State of Belief this week to discuss his inspiration for writing the letter. CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT

After Boston: A Word from Welton
How do we best understand the impact of these developments on our Muslim friends and neighbors? How do we best stand with them? And how do we respond to the inevitable challenges from some non-Muslims who are taking this opportunity to challenge the entire premise of interreligious cooperation? Welton reflects this week on these questions and more on State of Belief as he looks back at the bombings and ahead to life after Boston. CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT

A Tribute to Rev. Bob Edgar
It is with profound sadness and shock that we learned of the death of Rev. Bob Edgar, a dear friend of ours, an avid supporter of Interfaith Alliance, president of Common Cause, former General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and a former member of Congress. This week, we take a moment to remember Bob, who will be missed by many of us who now, far too soon, grieve his death and who always will be grateful for his life.

Interfaith Healing in Boston
When two explosions shook Boston during the marathon this past week, we all stopped in our tracks. As the investigation continues, from where does healing come? How do we turn to each other in love, rather than suspicion, at a time like this? Rabbi Matt Soffer of Temple Israel in Boston joins Welton this week to reflect on Boston after the bombing and to discuss the interfaith healing efforts underway.

Does Jesus Really Love Me?
An editor at Fast Company Magazine, Jeff Chu is an openly gay Christian who traveled the country in search of answers, a search he documented in a compelling new book, Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America. Chu joins Welton this week on State of Belief to talk about his book, which takes a very personal look at contemporary issues at the intersection of LGBT Americans’ life and religious faith.

Update on Nuns on the Bus
When the Archbishop of Buenos Aires was elected pope last month, it’s fair to say it caught a lot of folks off guard. His first weeks as Pope Francis did the same, with some feeling hope that a Church that had grown increasingly political and exclusionary may take a different turn. But, based on reports out of Rome this week, an important concern for many American Catholics – the crackdown on so-called “feminist women religious” in the United States by the Pope’s predecessor – is set to continue. This week, Welton catches up with Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby and organizer of the “Nuns on the Bus” campaign.

Red Church, Blue Church
A popular, but simplistic, political view of the country is that of “red states” and “blue states.” While it may be useful shorthand for TV talking heads, it doesn’t tell us much about the diverse people populating those states. Too often this shorthand is also used for social issues such as marriage equality and religious groups, as well. So are there “red churches” and “blue churches?” Joining Welton this week is the Rev. Delman Coates, a leading voice for social justice and an unapologetic advocate for some positions that are assumed to be unpopular in Black Christian communities. The Rev. Coates is the senior pastor of the 8,000-person congregation of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland.

Science in the State of Louisiana
We first met Zack Kopplin over two years ago, when as a high school student in Baton Rouge, he launched a campaign to, quote, “repeal creationism” in response to a loosening set of rules regarding science curricula in Louisiana public schools that introduced the possibility of religiously-driven material in the science classroom. Today, as a student at Rice University, he continues his activism and is working with fellow activists to re-launch their campaign, calling for “a second giant leap for humankind.” He joins Welton this week to discuss the state of science education in Louisiana and beyond.

An Atheist on Christian Radio
Todd Stiefel has quickly become a leading funder of atheist causes through his Stiefel Freethought Foundation. In his home state of North Carolina, he has taken a rather personal – and surprising – approach to sharing his humanist convictions, appearing regularly on evangelical Christian radio to engage with folks for whom Atheism is probably most foreign. Hear from him this week as he explains to Welton how he found himself on Christian radio and discusses the work he’s doing through his foundation.

“The Bible”
With record-breaking ratings and a considerable buzz among viewers, the History Channel’s ten-hour miniseries “The Bible” brought some of the stories of scripture to today’s religiously and culturally diverse audience. For many non-Christians viewers (or perhaps all American viewers if a new survey on the state of the Bible is believed), the series exposed them to Bible stories for the first time – and it did it from a very Christian perspective. Rabbi Michael Bernstein, author of the insightful Huffington Post column “Sharing Scripture: Interfaith Thoughts About ‘The Bible’,” speaks with Welton about the implications of the documentary and some of the missed opportunities he found in the series.

‘Til Faith Do Us Part
Today, most people of faith recognize the immense value of sharing and learning the teachings of different religious traditions. Although we are beginning to better understand the colorful tapestry of faith represented by members of our diverse community, an interfaith household brings its own set of challenges. A new book, ‘Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage Is Transforming America, explores joys and challenges of interfaith marriage in a sensitive and respectful way. The book’s author, Naomi Schaefer Riley, joins Welton to discuss how interfaith marriages and relationships are positively transforming our nation.

A Case for Humanism
Philosophers and scholars have long tried to grasp the interconnectedness of beliefs and human society. One author and professor has delved deeply into what he sees as the reasons for the very existence of religion, and provocatively argues that in modern times, much of those reasons can be satisfied by science. A.C. Grayling, a leading voice in the Humanist Movement in the United Kingdom and author of The God Argument: the Case Against Religion and For Humanism, joins Welton this week on State of Belief. Professor Grayling explains the inevitable societal struggles between religion and secularism, and affirms that he’s not trying to convert anybody.

From the steps of the Supreme Court
As Supreme Court Justices heard arguments inside on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, Welton was outside as part of the United for Marriage rally where he made the case that religious freedom and marriage equality are not mutually exclusive. But he was not just there to speak, he also had a chance to listen. Among those he heard was Wade Henderson, CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Henderson took a few minutes to speak with Welton on the importance of this moment.

Organizing to bridge the religious divide
Auburn Theological Seminary has launched a new initiative called Groundswell that aims to empower leaders working to “bridge the religious divides, build community, pursue justice, and heal the world.” The project’s organizing director, Isaac Luria, joins Welton to share the vision of this important undertaking.

“Delicious Peace”
An interfaith initiative involving fair trade coffee farmers in Uganda, brings us a new CD from Smithsonian Folkways titled “Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music, and Interfaith Harmony in Uganda.” The CD’s producer, Jeffrey Summit, joins Welton to share this project.

Plus, a thank you from Welton to the Listeners
Welton takes a few moments to express his heartfelt gratitude to the many listeners of State of Belief who made contributions over the last week to keep the show on the air and help it grow.  The response has been deeply gratifying.

A Word from Welton on the State of State of Belief
People often tell us that there is nothing like State of Belief on the airwaves. We walk into the battle-line issues of the day, refuse to retreat from protecting the rights of all Americans – gay and straight, religious and non-religious, ideological or fed-up. On the show, we introduce you to people from the left and the right, trying to demonstrate how civil conversation can occur between people who don’t agree. This week, Welton talks directly with you about what you can do to ensure the future existence of State of Belief.

“Redefining Religious Liberty”
Whether we’re talking about a Louisiana classroom or Congress, rarely does a week go by that we’re not talking about attempts to inject religion into our secular society. If you ever doubted the relevance, urgency and importance of staying focused on the wall between religion and government week after week, year after year, your doubts will evaporate after you hear from Jay Michaelson, who joins us this week to discuss his report “Redefining Religious Liberty: The Covert Campaign Against Civil Rights.” The new report, from Political Research Associates, exposes the degree to which the principle of religious freedom has been subverted in the service of a narrow religious agenda. Listen in as he presents case studies, facts and figures to convincingly trace the well-organized, well-funded and alarmingly effective campaign to redefine “religious liberty” back through recent history. Click here for extended interview video and transcript.

The Religious Perspective on Immigration and Citizenship
Republicans and Democrats are now making immigration a priority issue, but what do the American people think? Welton is joined this week by Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, to discuss the findings of PRRI’s new major survey exploring public opinion of immigration and the morals and values underlying those opinions. Tune into find out what PRRI found and to hear about a finding that Dr. Jones calls “the rarest of rarities in our polarized political environment” – and, on the eve of the Supreme Court taking up two cases with great significance for LGBT Americans, some data on how far opinion has changed on fundamental rights for sexual minorities in this country. Click here for extended interview video and transcript.

State of Belief: Past, Present and Future
George Washington University Assistant Professor Greg Lebel has been a frequent and invaluable guest on State of Belief. The campaign veteran was with us every step of the way during the 2012 presidential elections – from Iowa to Super Tuesday, from the Democratic National Convention to Election Day – and is in a unique position as he joins Welton this week to take a look ahead at the future of State of Belief, and why radio remains a uniquely important medium.

Why DOMA Needs to Go, a Religious Perspective
Later this month, on March 27, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the Defense of Marriage Act case. There’s a broad coalition of people – religious leaders, the White House, governors and everyday Americans – working to abolish the Clinton-era law. One of those religious leaders, longtime senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in New York, the Rev. Pat Bumgardner, joins Welton on State of Belief this week to discuss why DOMA needs to go as well as the social justice implications of the law and the impending Supreme Court decision.  Rev. Bumgardner is also the Executive Director of the Global Justice Institute. Click here for extended interview video and transcript.

In Mississippi, at the Intersection of Sex-Ed and Religion
Mississippi is the most religious state in the union. It’s also the one with the highest teen birth rate. Freelance journalist Andy Kopsa has been following the situation in Mississippi and the state’s new religiously-influenced sex-ed program for Atlantic Magazine. She’s on State of Belief to discuss the role religion is playing in obstructing effective sexual education in Mississippi and the rest of the country.

What Pope Francis Means for the Church and the World
This was a big week for Catholics around the world as Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen to be the first South American and Jesuit pope in history. Kevin Eckstrom, editor-in-chief of Religion News Service, will discuss the implications of the election of Pope Francis and explain what his election may tell us about the direction of the Church.

A Word from Welton: The State of the Catholic Church
After the huge week that Catholics and the entire religious community have had, it’s impossible not to note the sheer number of people that gathered in Saint Peter’s Square in excitement and anticipation for a new leader. Welton offers his reflections on the election of Pope Francis and the state of the Catholic Church on this week’s State of Belief.