Faith Angle brings together top scholars and leading journalists for smart conversations around some of the most profound questions in the public square. Rather than a current-events debrief, our goal is a substantive conversation one notch beneath the surface, drawing out how religious convictions manifest themselves in American culture and public life.
Episodes
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Brad Fulton, professor of Nonprofit Management and Social Policy at the O’Neill School of Public Affairs at Indiana University, alongside Amber Hacker, Chief of External Affairs at Interfaith America. Our guests discuss the role of religious giving in philanthropy and the surprising trends that emerge from the underlying data. Out of the $557 billion dollars given annually in the United States to charities, twenty percent of the funds come from foundations. Does religious commitment influence that giving? Do we know from available data that generosity makes a person healthier or happier? Does the generation a person’s born into—say, a Boomer vs. a Millennial—impact giving patterns? They also discuss new networking tools as it relates to philanthropic giving.
Guests
Additional Resources
“Religious Organizations Crosscutting the Nonprofit Sector,” by Brad R. Fulton
“Faith-Based Public Foundations: Identifying the Field and Assessing its Impact,” by Allison Ralph and Brad R. Fulton
“Money, Meet Meaning,” by Amber Hacker and Tom Levinson
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
In this episode, we are joined by Jaweed Kaleem of The Los Angeles Times alongside Knox Thames, author of the new book Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom. Knox reflects on his long career advancing the cause of religious liberty around the world, including in the some of the world's most repressive contexts. Our guests assess the current state of religious freedom across different contexts, from India to Israel and Gaza, and reflect on how the eroding of religious freedom often serves as a "canary in the coal mine" for the loss of other fundamental human rights.
Guests
Additional Resources
Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom, by Knox Thames
"France Struggles to Confront One of Its Biggest Taboos: Race," by Jaweed Kaleem
"Swastikas, bullhorns, guns: Antisemitic Incidents in U.S. Hit 43-Year High," by Jaweed Kaleem
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
In this episode, New York Times opinion columnist David French sits down with Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold of The New Yorker to discuss her brand new book, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church. These two journalists with firsthand familiarity and longstanding expertise in covering religion embark on a fascinating exploration of the book's coverage of Philadelphia's Circle of Hope, a little-known yet influential progressive evangelical movement, and how the sobering disintegration of that spiritual community mirrors broader dynamics at work in American Christianity.
Guests
Additional Reading
Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church, by Eliza Griswold
"The Church Preached Love and Tolerance. Then Racial Politics Tore It Apart," by David French
"Losing a Beloved Community," by Eliza Griswold
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
On this episode, we are joined by Elizabeth Oldfield to discuss her newly-released book Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. After beginning her career covering religion for the BBC, Elizabeth for a decade ran a London-based think tank called Theos, which seeks to stimulate the debate about the place of religion in society, challenging and changing ideas through research, commentary and events. Under her leadership, its staff increased tenfold—and still supports podcast she hosts today, "The Sacred."
Joining Elizabeth is Damir Marusic, an assignment editor at The Washington Post. Along with Shadi Hamid, a longtime friend and advisor to Faith Angle, Damir co-founded the podcast "Wisdom of Crowds." Damir writes extensively on US politics, polarization, US foreign policy, and European affairs. Bringing a non-religious vantage point, he highlights with Elizabeth key themes in Fully Alive and the two get right into it, not mincing words even when there are differing views of sin, grace, evil, and the possibilities for human community.
Guests
Additional Resources
Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times, by Elizabeth Oldfield
"The Sacred" Podcast, with Elizabeth Oldfield, a Theos Think Tank podcast
Fully Alive Substack, with Elizabeth Oldfield
Wisdom of Crowds Podcast and Substack, with Damir Marusic and Shadi Hamid
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Building on the legacy of Michael Cromartie (1950-2017), who founded Faith Angle Forum a quarter-century ago, MCF brings together a select group of exceptionally talented, early-career journalists for a three-day conference in the nation’s capital, focusing on the intersection of faith, culture, and journalism today. This year’s forum explored new narratives in American history, reconsidered the relationship between spirituality and vocational journalism, and examined the interplay between race, religion, and identity in diverse democracies.
Additional Resources:
Journalism, Religion, and Vocation with Will Saletan and Eugene Scott
Religion and Journalism: An Integrating Workshop with Miranda Kennedy and Molly Ball
The Spirit of Our Politics with Michael Wear and Jon Ward
The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America's Story with Kermit Roosevelt and Pete Wehner
Understanding Race, Religion, and Identity for Diverse Democracies with Simran Jeet Singh
Thursday May 09, 2024
Thursday May 09, 2024
In this episode, recorded at Faith Angle Miami 2024, we are joined by Brad Wilcox and Isabel Sawhill for a fascinating, timely conversation about marriage patterns, family structure, shifting gender norms, and poverty rates. In a time of deep polarization, are certain approaches better than others when it comes to exploring the benefits of marriage for children? How does marriage compare with cohabitation, and how do we avoid getting caught in culture war cul du sacs when discussing gender roles, marriage norms, and solutions that can benefit low-income families? Two seminal scholars in this field, Brad and Belle highlight themes from their decades of scholarship on these topics and, in particular, from Brad's most recent book, Get Married.
Guests
Additional Resources
"Poverty, Religion, and the New Marriage Debate," Faith Angle Miami 2024 session video with Brad Wilcox and Isabel Sawhill
"How to Think - and Talk - About Marriage Today," by Will Saletan
Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization, by Brad Wilcox
Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood without Marriage, by Isabel Sawhill
The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, by Melissa Kearney
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
In this episode, we are joined by John Inazu, who is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion and Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. This week, he published his fourth book: Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect.
John sits down to discuss differences, respect, bridge-building, and the unique role of journalism in all this, with Matt Kaminski, editor-at-large of POLITICO, and the co-founder of POLITICO Europe. Matt served as editor-in-chief of POLITICO from 2019-2023, and he’s covered international politics for more than a quarter-century, still writing regularly on global affairs today.
Together they discuss whether it is possible to disagree in ways that somehow build bridges with neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones, and what role journalists can play in helping us see reality more clearly.
Guests
Additional Resources
Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect, by John Inazu
Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference, by John Inazu
"'Beyond Crazy': The Liberal Jew Mugged by a Post-Oct. 7 World," by Matthew Kaminski
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
In this episode, we are joined by Sarah McCammon, National Political Correspondent at NPR, to discuss her book Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. In it, Sarah tells a compelling, personal story about family, marriage, politics, and church—and she concisely boils down insights from scholars like David Gushee, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Christian Smith, and others you’ll hear her reference. If the great de-churching currently happening in American society is most acutely felt by Gen Z and Millennials, Sarah’s story is right in the heart of that. And since no one really knows where the future is headed, one question to ask is: If evangelicals or other religious Americans leave the fold, what replaces that unique sense of purpose, transcendent faith, and community? Joining Sarah to discuss that and other urgent questions is Ruth Graham, the brilliant New York Times’ religion, faith, and values reporter.
Guests:
Additional Resources:
The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church, by Sarah McCammon
"Evangelical Writer Who Influenced Purity Culture Separates from Wife," by Sarah McCammon and Ruth Graham
"Two Evangelical Leaders on 'Radical Faith'," by Ruth Graham
Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation, by Jon Ward
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
In this episode, we are joined again by Tim Alberta of The Atlantic and Michael Wear of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, to discuss Michael's brand new book The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life. Michael has been engaging the condition of American politics for more than 15 years, after serving in the White House, helping to launch and lead the AND Campaign, and advising leading policymakers, journalists, practitioners at the intersection of faith and public policy.
Drawing from this experience as well as the work and influence of noteworthy Christian philosopher Dallas Willard, Michael argues that our politics will only get better if we get better. The only way to transcend the current polarized morass we’re in is to deepen and revitalize our spiritual formation. Our politics is downstream of the kind of people we are.
The Spirit of Our Politics argues that the way forward is to better align our political and civic engagement with our religious commitments. And while the democratic answer for believers is never theonomy, or Christian nationalism, or privileging a majority identity—Michael and Tim sketch the contours of what faithful, integrated living might produce.
Guests:
Additional Resources:
The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, by Michael Wear
The Center for Christianity & Public Life
The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, by Tim Alberta
"The Surprising Link between the Gospel and Politics," by Michael Wear
Wear We Are Podcast, with Michael and Melissa Wear
"Tim Alberta and Michael Wear: The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory," Faith Angle podcast episode
Friday Dec 22, 2023
Friday Dec 22, 2023
On today’s episode, we are joined by The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig for an Advent reflection with Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, assistant pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Rev. Isaac is an evangelical pastor whose life and ministry have been rooted in Bethlehem in the West Bank, where he is a theologian, Bible college dean, a leader of the peacebuilding initiative Christ at the Checkpoint, and part of the ancient but fast-dwindling community of Christians in the Holy Land. This Christmas, as there is war in the Holy Land, this sobering conversation points to the hope of the Incarnation in the midst of suffering—offered from a unique vantage point and moment, in the place of Christ’s birth.
Guests:
Additional Resources:
The Other Side of the Wall: A Christian Palestinian Narrative of Lament and Hope, by Munther Isaac
"Christmas is canceled in the land of Jesus' birth," by Queen Rania Al Abdullah in The Washington Post
"In Bethlehem, the home of Jesus' birth, a season of grieving for Palestinian Christians," by Laura King in The Los Angeles Times