Religion at the Airport
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Date: 19 July 2010
When Faith is Mistaken for Terrorism
From packing liquids correctly to making it to the gate on time, the average air traveler has plenty to worry about. Many people of faith, however, have an even more pressing concern when they fly. Expressions of religion in the airport - like the Muslim hijab, the Sikh turban and the Jewish tefillin - are sometimes mistaken for terrorist threats. We're joined by a Sikh, a Muslim, and a Jew who say that profiling religious objects and clothing instead of behavior flouts basic civil liberties. Our story first aired in February.
Manjit Singh, Chairperson of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Nihad Awad, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Rabbi Ken Cohen, American University Hillel Director and Campus Rabbi
Ralph Benson, Dulles Airport Chaplain
Begins at 22 min 28 sec
His counseling centers are Starbucks, Five Guys, and Chipotle, and his base is located near Gate A31 at Dulles International Airport. He's Ralph Benson, senior chaplain at Washington Dulles International Airport Chapel, an interfaith chapel that serves more than 300 travelers and airport employees every day. Chaplain Benson talks about his "beat" at the airport, his favorite stories, and why he refuses to proselytize. Our story first aired in February.
Chaplain Ralph Benson, Senior Chaplain at Washington Dulles International Airport Chapel
World Religions 101: Confucianism
Begins at 35 min 58 sec
Confucians aren't particularly interested in the divine or the afterlife. The Chinese government doesn't even consider Confucianism a religion. But in this installment of our World Religions 101 series, Stephen Prothero says that instead of dismissing Confucianism as a non-religion, perhaps it can teach us that 'the point of religion is not so much the by-and-by as the here and now.'
Pictured: Statue of Confucius at the KongZi Confucian Temple.
Stephen Prothero, religion blogger for CNN and author of God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Rule the World and Why Their Differences Matter
