Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information. Show #1915 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on December 11 (check local listings). Program Note: Due to pledge be sure to check local listings.
Religious Response to Calls for Banning Muslims – GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” has generated a vigorous national debate about tolerance and national security. Many in the faith community condemned Trump’s proposed plan as discriminatory and a violation of religious liberty. Kim Lawton talks with Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners and author of 12 books, including God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It; and Dalia Mogahed, a Muslim-American scholar and director of research for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
Ethicist Peter Singer on Charitable Giving – Princeton University ethicist Peter Singer is a leading proponent of what he calls “effective altruism.” An advocate of “means testing,” he tells Judy Valente that donors would do well by researching charities and giving to charities that provide the greatest value for the money. He adds that when people become more generous and give more to others it actually adds to their own happiness.
“Publicizing the Miracle” of Hanukkah – Jews are celebrating Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights. Passages in the Talmud direct Jews to “publicize the miracle” of Hanukkah. We visit San Antonio, Texas, where the Jewish community holds an annual “Hanukkah on the River” celebration. Rabbi Chaim Block, executive director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning, explains how they are fulfilling the requirement to publicize the miracle with boat parades, children’s hands-on workshops and menorah lighting.
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