Interfaith Voices is an independent public radio show providing engaging and informative discussion on the key public issues of our day through the lenses of many different faith perspectives. We foster religious tolerance and educate our listeners on the broad diversity of religious traditions and viewpoints in the United States, Canada, and around the world. Our purpose is to promote interfaith understanding through dialogue.

On This Week's Show

  • play show:

Date: 2 January 2009

Credit: flickr.com/hamed

Inside the Minds of One Billion Muslims

After 9/11, Washington policy makers seemed utterly in the dark about Muslims' reactions to the attacks.  Did they support terrorism? Did they truly hate America?  And indeed, what were their fears, values and hopes in general?  Dalia Mogahed, of the Gallup poll, decided to find out, leading the most comprehensive survey of Muslims worldwide ever conducted.

Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, co-author of Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think

The Himalayas. Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/akbc/

Commentary: Finding God in the Himalayas

Begins at 18:46

Some 18 years ago, writer Karen Anderson took a trip to the highest mountains on earth to discover the essence of Hinduism and Buddhism. What she learned about God wasn’t in the temples but on the steep, rocky trail.

Karen Anderson, a writer based in Traverse City, Mich.

Credit: flickr.com/dustpuppy

Confronting Religious Bias

Begins at 22:30

Stamping out religious intolerance is a tall order, but don't tell that to NCBI. The DC-based nonprofit holds 6-hour workshops in colleges, government offices, police stations and factories-- wherever religious bigotry can become a major problem.
Katie Jones and Laura Kwerel dropped by one of these all-day sessions to find out if attitudes can really begin to change in one afternoon.

Cherie Brown, Executive Director of the National Coalition Building Institute

Dr. Renee Scales, Director of Multicultural Research, George Mason University

Produced by Laura Kwerel and Katie Jones

Courtesy of Marquette University Archives

The Hidden, Inner Life of Dorothy Day

Begins at 38:46

Dorothy Day believed that peacemaking begins with our response to the person next to us—especially the homeless, the hungry, the forsaken and the unwanted. Robert Ellsberg, editor of her newly-released diaries, offers a rare window into the mind of this beloved Catholic icon.

Robert Ellsberg, editor of The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day

This Week's Interfaith Calendar

January 5 - Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh (Sikh)

On this day, Sikhs celebrate the birth of their 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708).

January 6 - Epiphany (Christian)

Christians remember the day that three wise men visited the baby Jesus, days after his birth.  Also known as Three Kings Day.

January 7 - Christmas Day (Orthodox Christian)

Because many Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, they celebrate Christmas 13 days after other Christians do.