The State Of Belief

What does it mean to be a stranger? Rabbi Angela Buchdahl’s journey of faith, identity, and belonging teaches us the value of embracing the strangers among us—and our inner strangers, as well. In our increasingly divided world, the struggle to find belonging often leads us to question our identities. A cantor as well as a rabbi, she brings the experience of coming to a strange land, and the joy of leading Central Synagogue in New York City, one of the largest Jewish congregations in North America, to the conversation—as well as to her memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlike­ly Rab­bi’s Sto­ry of Faith, Iden­ti­ty, and Belonging.

Rabbi Angela has been a trailblazer in the Jewish community since 1999, when she became the first East-Asian person to be invested as a cantor anywhere in the world. In 2001, she became the first East-Asian American to be ordained a rabbi in North America. She came to Central Synagogue in New York as senior cantor in 2006 and was appointed senior rabbi in 2014.

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have included Rabbi Angela Buchdahl in their lists of America's "Most Influential Rabbis."
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What hope is there for the rule of law when the Justice Department is deployed to settle political scores and privilege one religion over others? A lot, as it turns out—but the work of rebuilding our nation's voting and justice systems won't be fast, and it won't be easy, according to this week's guest, Vanita Gupta, a civil rights attorney and former Associate Attorney General of the United States.

In conversation with host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, she emphasizes the fragility of our democracy due to eroding trust in institutions and urges moral courage among lawyers and citizens to defend justice and fairness. Vanita's insights on the power of faith communities in restoring trust and her call for cross-faith solidarity offer a hopeful path forward.
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A seismic shift is happening in America’s religious and political landscape—and we need to understand it now. Religion scholar and theologian Dr. Matthew D. Taylor unpacks how Christian nationalism, spiritual warfare, and authoritarian mythologies are reshaping democracy, fueling violence, and distorting faith. If you're wondering why faith is being weaponized to justify tyranny, or how religion fuels the dangerous myth of angels vs. demons in today’s politics, this episode reveals the startling truth behind the headlines.

Drawing from his work as the author of The Violent Take It By Force and his upcoming book Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists, Matt argues that understanding and confronting these spiritualized political narratives is essential to protecting both democracy and the integrity of faith.

Dr. Matthew D. Taylor is a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University. His Substack is “Matthew D Taylor’s Reckonings."
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In the same two weeks, the Trump Anti-Christian Bias Task Force filled 560 pages with reports of deliberate discrimination by the Biden administration (and pretty much everyone else), and the Supreme Court ruled that anti-minority bias is gone from our elections and the landmark Voting Rights Act is no longer needed.

That’s exactly backwards, and we’ll get a chance to hear the expert opinion of Rev. Thomas L. Bowen, General Secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention—the denominational home of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thomas was Senior Advisor for Faith Engagement in the Biden White House, so he had a front-row seat for how decisions of faith were actually handled. He’s also already organizing to reduce the damage to democracy that the high court’s anti-VRA decision is sure to cause.

More about Rev. Thomas L. Bowen

Rev. Bowen is General Secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC). Headquartered in Northwest Washington, D.C. and boasting more than two and a half million members, the denomination is known as the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Bowen previously served as Senior Advisor for Faith Engagement in the Biden White House Office of Public Engagement. He also served as the
African American Strategic Engagement Director, while holding dual positions as Director of the Mayor’s Office on Religious Affairs and the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs in Washington, D.C. 

An ordained Baptist minister, Rev. Bowen has maintained his ties to the community and the local church, serving in various positions at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church since 2002. 
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Have you noticed how Pope Leo's calm, fearless stance is rattling those in power? He’s not just speaking to Catholics; he's challenging the very idea that religion should be silent in times of crisis, whether the topic is war or the treatment of immigrants.

This week, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes two leading American Catholic voices: religion professor Dr. Anthea Butler and best-selling author Father Jim Martin, SJ. They've got deep insights on the ways race, religion, and political priorities inform the furious responses from the White House and other powerful figures—and efforts to deny the moral authority of the head of one of the world's largest religions.

Dr. Anthea Butler is Geraldine R. Segal Professor of Social Thought and
Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of
Pennsylvania. She's the author of the book White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.

Rev. Jim Martin is editor-at-large at the Jesuit America Magazine, consultor to the Vatican, and author of many books, including his latest—a memoir titled Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher,
Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest.
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