Inside the Unification Church

The theology of the Unification Church begins in the Garden of Eden. That’s where, according to founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Satan seduced Eve, causing her to have a sexual relationship with Adam before they reached spiritual maturity. As a result, humanity’s lineage is incorrectly linked to Satan, not God. The only way to restore it, Moon teaches, is through a church-sanctioned blessing ceremony. Moon, who considers himself a messiah, began performing the ceremonies himself in 1961, blessing as many as 30,000 couples at once in sports stadiums and concert halls.

Unification scholar David Bromley explains the beliefs of the church, which is loosely based on Christianity.

Pictured: Rev. Moon presiding over a mass blessing, 1982

David Bromley, professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University

The Bin Ladin of the Internet?

They’ve been compared to televangelists and called the “Dear Abbys” of Muslim extremists.  So-called internet imams have been linked to a number of terrorist attacks, though most have never detonated a bomb or fired a gun at anyone.  One of the most visible is Anwar al-Awlaki (pictured), an American born, self-proclaimed cleric known for his impeccable English and popular YouTube clips.  Terrorism expert Jarret Brachman explains how they’ve used their grasp of the Web to lure some Muslims toward extremism.

Jarret Brachman, author of Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice and terrorism consultant to the U.S. government

Whiskers, Bones, Toes, and Teeth

In Rag and Bone, author Peter Manseau explores the macabre world of religious relics—the bodily odds and ends of saints, gurus and prophets, scattered all around the world.  From Muhammed’s beard whisker to the Buddha’s tooth, it's a look at why we save and celebrate pieces of the dead. Our interview originally aired in July 2009.

Peter Manseau, author of Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead, founding editor of killingthebuddha.com

The Age of the Spirit

Move over dogma—these days, religion is all about awe, wonder and emotion.  Religion trend spotter Harvey Cox looks inside the idea of ‘spiritual but not religious’, and finds that modern believers are abandoning creeds and doctrine for practices that emphasize a direct experience with the divine. 

Pictured: The Helix Nebula, sometimes called the "Eye of God"

Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University and author of The Future of Faith

Becoming a Steward of the Earth

From ending slavery to launching civil rights, people of faith have long been mobilizers of great social change.  This week, a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian explain why religion is the missing link in confronting another justice issue: climate change.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, consulting Imam for DC Green Muslims

Reverend Canon Sally Bingham, President and founder of Interfaith Power and Light

Evonne Marzouk, Executive Director of Canfei Nesharim: Sustainable Living Inspired by Torah

Reading the Bible: Why and How

Prof. Timothy Beal has a term for the weird feeling some of his students have about studying scripture: Bible Baggage.  He says the anxiety comes from all sorts of places-- bad memories of Sunday school, brushes with Bible thumpers, and simply feeling unauthorized to read it. But whether you're religious or not, he says, this much is true: the Bible's stories form the core of Western civilization.  In his new book, Beal makes a case for reading, and yes, enjoying, the Bible.

Pictured: Moses With the Ten Commandments by Rembrandt, c.1659

Timothy Beal, author of Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know

Kennedy's 'True Compass'

For four decades, Senator Ted Kennedy was America’s most influential Catholic politician.  But he kept his personal faith quiet, hidden. Jonathan Karp, editor of his new memoir, reveals the senator you don’t know—a man who loved the Gospel of Matthew, prayed over rosary beads, and spent only one day in bed at the end of his life. 

Jonathan Karp, editor of True Compass, publisher and editor-in-chief of Twelve Books

The Not-So-Secret World of the Freemasons

Dan Brown clearly loves religion – really mysterious religion, like his portrayal of the Catholic group Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code.  But then, groups accused of being religious will do just as well.  His new novel, The Lost Symbol, offers a semi-truthful peek inside the Freemasons, who has been accused of everything from conspiring with extra-terrestrials to placing secret symbols on dollar bills. Though the reality is a lot less strange, some faith traditions continue to have bad feelings about the fraternity.  Christopher Hodapp, a Freemason for 11 years, debunks the myths.

Pictured: the Square and Compasses, the most recognized emblem of Freemasonry.

Christopher Hodapp, author of Freemasons For Dummies