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We take a look at several issues on the religious liberty landscape, from Christmas songs in public schools to prayers at city council meetings to health care mandates. David Cortman, of the Alliance Defending Freedom, provides a review of these cases and addresses some of the challenges that Tony puts before him. This is a wide-ranging discussion that covers some of the more well-known court cases as well as some lesser known issues.

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With the 12th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks upon us, we examine how clergy respond to national tragedies in their sermons. Prof. Melissa Matthes — associate professor at the US Coast Guard Academy — talks about a research project she is conducting that involves reading hundreds of sermons from a variety of priests and pastors following such tragic events as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the JFK and MLK assassinations, and the events of 9/11/01. We explore the content of these sermons and how they have changed over time.

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With students heading back to college all across the nation, we take a slight pause from our typical discussions on religion to examine the current state and potential future of higher education with Dr. Hunter Baker, dean of instruction at Union University, and author of two important articles on the future of higher education and Christian universities.

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Prof. Robert Delahunty (University of St. Thomas) discusses the life and thought of Alexis de Tocqueville, particularly as it pertains to his views on religion and democracy. We discuss Tocqueville’s personal religious history and how this influenced his thought, as well as the observations he made with respect to the role of religion in a newly-formed democratic nation. Prof. Delahunty explores Tocqueville’s thoughts on church-state relations and the role of civil religion in comparison with Niccolo Machiavelli, and we reflect upon what Tocqueville’s observations recorded in America’s Jacksonian Era tell us about the role of religion in the U.S. today.

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Dr. Frank Newport, the Editor-in-Chief at Gallup, discusses the process of public opinion research and what it tells us about America’s changing religious landscape. We spend a significant amount of time discussing how polls are conducted, what their limitations are, and how survey companies like Gallup try to overcome these problems. This is a fantastic primer for those who are unfamiliar with survey research. We spend the second half of the interview discussing Dr. Newport’s book, “God Is Alive & Well,” which argues that America is still a vibrantly spiritual nation.

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Have you ever wondered what goes on at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting? Dr. Thom S. Rainer, prodigous author and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, gives us some background on the SBC’s convention and what issues were raised in during the June 2013 meeting, including mental health and chartering the Boy Scouts. We also discuss various trends affecting America’s religious landscape, including the growth in large churches at the possible expense of smaller congregations and the faith of the Millenials (individuals born between 1980 and 2000). Dr. Rainer also talks about what leads to church stagnation, what it takes to turn those churches around, and a few not-so-obvious pointers on how to guarantee a vibrant church.

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President Joseph Castleberry of Northwest University (NU) in Kirkland, WA discusses what it is like to run a religiously-based institution of higher education. We discuss the change NU recently made from college to university, Dr. Castleberry’s pathway to his position as president as well as the various challenges a small religious university faces in recruiting students and faculty, and maintaining a high level of scholarship while staying true to one’s religious mission. This is an excellent podcast for parents and high school students thinking about where to attend college.

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Bill Clark, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, joins us for an interesting, open-ended discussion about his personal journey through the academic and spiritual world. Although his professional emphasis is on international and comparative political economy, Bill’s broad intellectual range and interest in the sociology of religion such allows him to provide valuable sociological insights into his own experiences, including creating a start-up church in New York City, plugging into various pre-existing churches, and then taking a new approach to his relationship with faith.

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In this special episode in honor of Memorial Day in the United States, we talk with Major Robert Kinnune, an Army chaplain stationed at Joint Base Lewis McCord in Washington State. His discusses his career path in the military, bringing him to a decions 12 years into being an engineer to become a military chaplain. We review what his day was like leading up to this nighttime interview and cover the particular challenges of being a military chaplain throughout the “life cycle” of a soldier — from basic training (boot camp) to retirement. A nice episode to garner a greater appreciation for those who serve in the armed forces.

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A hat shop in Harlem that dispenses spiritual advice. A circle of Korean limo drivers holding Bible studies. An auto body repair shop named after Christianity’s savior. All of this stuff, and more, can be found in New York City and Tony Carnes has been on a mission to find this and document it. Following up on previous interview about Carnes’s project “A Journey Through New York City Religions,” we delve into some of the interesting, surprising, and sometimes unusual details of what constitutes NYC’s spiritual lifeblood. We go over some of the meta-trends as well as looking at the fine details. A fun and informative look at the post-secular city.

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