It’s been a busy couple of months at State of Belief Radio. Unfortunately, some of that has to do with the unprecedented recklessness with which this year’s political campaigns have unreservedly and unrelentingly leaned on religious themes in promoting their candidates. Uniquely positioned to bring some rational discussion to this arena, Rev. Gaddy has – week after week – addressed these attempts to crassly leverage voters’ religious convictions for political advantage with insightful guests from the worlds of journalism and academia, as well as activists and faith leaders.
We were proud to broadcast from Des Moines, Iowa, early in December, providing some personal perspectives from Rev. Gaddy and several local guests on the state that is ground zero for the primary season. Earlier in the year, listeners heard shows from the Capital Rotunda in Washington, D.C., during a demonstration for economic justice, and even Vietnam, as Rev. Gaddy and a distinguished panel of guests discussed the moral implications of the still-lingering effects of the wartime use of Agent Orange by the U.S. military.
In a year that saw the failure of religion-based propaganda to block major social advances including the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” marriage equality in New York State, reproductive rights in Mississippi and workers’ rights in Ohio, State of Belief Radio brought the voices of both prominent leaders and ordinary but involved citizens to our audience. We delivered the stark realities behind bumper-sticker-sized anti-Muslim rhetoric, so pervasive in parts of our country, with analysis right from the source by experts from the Center for American Progress and Muslim Advocates. And we helped to contextualize the mood of the electorate with in-depth surveys from the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service.
To provide broader reach for the show, we launched the free State of Belief iOS and Android apps. And in just a few weeks, a more interactive and user-friendly new website will make its debut as well.
Listeners can now respond to the show and its host not only by email and via Facebook, but also by calling a toll-free listener line: 1-800-856-0277.
In the year ahead, the State of Belief team is looking forward to continuing to grow the show’s presence online and in social media, as well as pursuing new and exciting opportunities to expand the audience via traditional radio broadcasts.
Just as a fireman doesn’t celebrate a fire, but rather rushes in to extinguish it, grateful he was there to do so, so too do we not cheer the unprecedented and unremitting attempts from numerous quarters to cheapen religion for political gain and erode our democracy in the name of religion, yet we are grateful to be able to do our part to challenge, expose and publicize such attempts. Nothing is more gratifying than the regular listener feedback we receive, so often expressing appreciation for information and insights that listeners would not have had access to in any other way.
In the election year that is about to begin, chances are high that that fire will grow only hotter and more dangerous. And State of Belief Radio, in cooperation with Interfaith Alliance, will continue to challenge the misuse of religion for political gain with reason, with truth, and with the intelligence and insights of our guests.