Religion in the Oval Office and the Paradoxes of Faith
April 23, 2015
Summary: We look into the spiritual inclinations of our Presidential hopefuls, and uncover a few surprises, from Hillary Clinton's piety to Bobby Jindal’s brush with an exorcism in the early 90s. And Sister Joan Chittister on embracing paradox.
Policy, Prayer, and the Presidency
April 23, 2015
This week, we find out how private religious convictions have shaped monumental public policies over the years, and get up to speed on the spiritual inclinations of the new batch of hopefuls. Just a few of the revelations: Hillary Clinton's quiet Methodism is "rock solid," Marco Rubio has been a Catholic, a Mormon and an Evangelical, and Bobby Jindal had a brush with an exorcism in the early 90s.
A bit of trivia: The phrase God Bless America wasn't always the closer on presidential speeches. In fact,Richard Nixon was the first modern president to use the phrase, in an attempt to do damage control after the Watergate scandal:
Sister Joan Chittister on the Light Found in Darkness
April 23, 2015
This week, Sister Joan Chittister invites us to embrace chaos, insecurity, and the great unknown. After a battle with polio when she entered the convent at sixteen years old, she learned that spiritual growth can be ignited by the most tragic moments of life. Light, she tells us, can be birthed from the darkness.
Joan Chittister, author of Between the Dark and the Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life
Joan has called Joni Mitchell's 1968 classic "Both Sides, Now" a perfect illustration of her own approach to spiritual paradox. Enjoy this beautiful live version, from 1970:
