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The State of Belief
The State of Belief
Every week, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush hosts lively, funny and poignant conversations with inspiring religious and civic leaders, as well as artists and activists from across the country. Listeners get a potent mix of spiritual wisdom, political strategy, and hopeful commentary from national and local leaders who are rising up to meet this urgent moment in America. With the tagline, “Where Religion and Democracy Meet,” State of Belief is a celebration of our nation’s diversities and an invitation to join together to, in the words of the great James Baldwin, “achieve our country.”
Meet the Host
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. An ordained Baptist minister, Paul has been a leader in the interfaith movement to protect freedom and preserve democracy. As the great-grandson of the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and great-grandson of Baptist theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, a key figure in the Social Gospel movement, Paul’s commitment to interfaith advocacy comes in part from his own interfaith background. Prior to coming to Interfaith Alliance, Paul has served as senior vice president of the Auburn Seminary, the founding and executive editor of HuffPost Religion, associate dean of religious life and the chapel at Princeton University, and a founding editor of Beliefnet.com. Most recently, he was the senior advisor for public affairs and innovation at Interfaith America.

Before hosting State of Belief, Paul was the host of Huffington Post’s podcast “All Together” where he interviewed guests as diverse as President Jimmy Carter, Patti Smith, RuPaul, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Paul speaks about religious diversity and the importance of inclusive religious liberty at colleges, churches and institutes around the country including The Chautauqua Institute, the Center for American Progress, the New America Foundation and the Aspen Institute. He is regularly invited to offer commentary on issues of religion and society on national television and radio including a repeated guest on CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, and BBC.
Podcast image for
Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone
Backlash to racial progress is both disappointing -- and totally predictable.
Podcast image for
Jeffrey Salkin
The screams of October 7 have echoes from 1929. When will it stop?
Podcast image for
Amber Hacker and Tom Levinson
A former CEO of 10 public companies talks about the work and joy of giving.
Podcast image for
Rev. Amanda Henderson
(RNS) — Pope Francis shook up the Catholic Church with bold gestures and quiet reforms, leaving a legacy that's as debated as it is defining.
Podcast image for
Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone
Backlash to racial progress is both disappointing -- and totally predictable.
Podcast image for
Jeffrey Salkin
The screams of October 7 have echoes from 1929. When will it stop?
Podcast image for
Amber Hacker and Tom Levinson
A former CEO of 10 public companies talks about the work and joy of giving.
Podcast image for
Rev. Amanda Henderson
(RNS) — Pope Francis shook up the Catholic Church with bold gestures and quiet reforms, leaving a legacy that's as debated as it is defining.
Latest Episode
May 3, 2025
PLAY EPISODE
Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Faithful America Executive Director Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck about the threat to the constitutional Establishment Clause posed by the Supreme Court case St Isidore, and the hope for bringing people together across lines of division around shared values and priorities.
PLAY EPISODE
Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Faithful America Executive Director Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck about the threat to the constitutional Establishment Clause posed by the Supreme Court case St Isidore, and the hope for bringing people together across lines of division around shared values and priorities.
Previous Episodes
Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Faithful America Executive Director Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck about the threat to the constitutional Establishment Clause posed by the Supreme Court case St Isidore, and the hope for bringing people together across lines of division around shared values and priorities.
PLAY EPISODE
Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush talks with Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, about ways the administration is trying to consolidate even more power in the name of fighting antisemitism.
PLAY EPISODE
Father James Martin shares personal memories and insights of his longtime champion and fellow Jesuit Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21st at the age of 88.
PLAY EPISODE
Host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush addresses some of the biggest threats to pluralistic religious freedom and democracy coming from the Trump-Vance-Musk administration, and shares some guest clips for the Easter and Passover.
PLAY EPISODE
Podcast image for
Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone
Backlash to racial progress is both disappointing -- and totally predictable.
Podcast image for
Jeffrey Salkin
The screams of October 7 have echoes from 1929. When will it stop?
Podcast image for
Amber Hacker and Tom Levinson
A former CEO of 10 public companies talks about the work and joy of giving.
Podcast image for
Rev. Amanda Henderson
(RNS) — Pope Francis shook up the Catholic Church with bold gestures and quiet reforms, leaving a legacy that's as debated as it is defining.
Podcast image for
Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone
Backlash to racial progress is both disappointing -- and totally predictable.
Podcast image for
Jeffrey Salkin
The screams of October 7 have echoes from 1929. When will it stop?
Podcast image for
Amber Hacker and Tom Levinson
A former CEO of 10 public companies talks about the work and joy of giving.
Podcast image for
Rev. Amanda Henderson
(RNS) — Pope Francis shook up the Catholic Church with bold gestures and quiet reforms, leaving a legacy that's as debated as it is defining.