The State Of Belief

Updated: 30 Aug 2025 • 153 episodes
stateofbelief.com

Every week, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush hosts lively, funny and poignant conversations with inspiring religious and civic leaders; as well as artists and activists from across the country. Listeners get a potent mix of spiritual wisdom, political strategy, and hopeful commentary from national and local leaders who are rising up to meet this urgent moment in America. With the tagline: “Where Religion and Democracy Meet,” State of Belief is a celebration of our nation’s diversities and an invitation to join together to, in the words of the great James Baldwin, "achieve our country.”

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She's a Jewish woman who has spent countless hours undercover, impersonating the White supremacist, misogynistic, antisemitic extremists she was researching for her first book. She's also brought an outsider's view to the growing dominance of Christian Nationalism in our society and our government for her second. This

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What does it mean to build bridges amidst the turmoil of the second Trump Administration? How have interfaith communities moved forward with productive dialogue post-October 7th? Is there a more nuanced way to think about Christian Nationalism and the MAGA constituency? In this episode of The State of Belief, Rev. Paul

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This week on The State of Belief, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush sits down with Ani Zonneveld,  feminist Muslim activist, musician, and Grammy-winning songwriter. Ani’s journey from Malaysia to Germany, Egypt, India and eventually Los Angeles - and the lessons learned along the way - is nothing short of inspiring.

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This week on The State of Belief, truth through comedy. Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush welcomes comedic genius John Fugelsang, author of the new book Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds coming September 9th. Togethe

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This week, host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Reiner Platt, the brilliant mind leading the Law, Rights, and Religion Project. They dive deep into her newly published report, Religious Liberty and Immigration: Legal Analysis of Past and Future Claims. Despite the administratio

We are back from a brief summer break, and are ready to hit the ground running! This week on The State of Belief, the political, ethical, religious and legal aspects of the sordid case of the Jefferey Epstein files. Whether or not there are incriminating documents, the relative silence from most faith-oriented leaders

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