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America's True Religious Roots

Sixty-five percent of Americans believe that the nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a “Christian nation,” according to a recent poll.  

But as religious scholar Dr. David Holmes explains, very few of the founders were conventional Christians.  On this President’s Day, Interfaith Voices uncovers the real Founding Fathers, a diverse group of thinkers dedicated to a new idea in the world of the 18th century: religious freedom.

Dr. David Holmes, author of The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, and Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA 

A recent spate of exit polls asked voters a hot question for this year’s Presidential election: Do you count yourself  “evangelical or born- again”?  Only problem is, they asked Republicans, but not Democrats. 

So two weeks ago, a faith-based non profit decided to conduct its own poll—this time asking the same question of everyone.  Interfaith Voices reveals the results.

Katie Barge, Communications Director, Faith in Public Life

As the first female to head the largest Muslim organization in North America, Dr. Ingrid Mattson is a true trailblazer.    This week, Dr. Mattson talks with us about her views on the Islamic head scarf, her conversion to Islam in her 20s, and her moderate take on women’s rights.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Conneticut

Three years ago this month, in Brazil’s Amazon jungle, a seventy-three-year-old nun was brutally shot at point-blank range.   Join us as we explore the legacy--and cruel murder--of a woman known for her advocacy for the poor, her love of the earth, and her gutsy, stubborn personality.

Binka Le Breton, author of The Greatest Gift: The Courageous Life and Martyrdom of Sister Dorothy Stang