Living Our Beliefs: Exploring Faith & Religion in Daily Life
Religion and faith are important for millions of people worldwide. While ancient traditions can provide important beliefs and values for life, it can be hard to apply them to our lives today. And yet, weaving them into our days can bring benefits––greater meaning in life, more alignment between our beliefs and our actions, and deeper personal connection to our faith and each other.
In Living Our Beliefs, we delve into where and how Jews, Christians, and Muslims express their faith each day––at work, at home, and in public––so that we can see the familiar and unfamiliar in new ways. Learning from other religions and denominations invites us to notice similarities and differences. Comparing beliefs and practices prompts us to be more curious and open to other people, reducing the natural challenge of encountering the Other. Every person’s life and religious practice is unique. Join us on this journey of discovery and reflection.
Starter episodes with Jews:
Mikveh: Reclaiming an Ancient Jewish Ritual – Haviva Ner-David
Honoring and Challenging Jewish Orthodoxy – Dr. Lindsay Simmonds
The Interfaith Green Sabbath Project – Jonathan Schorsch
Starter episodes with Christians:
Is a Loving God in the Brokenness and Darkness? – Will Berry
Queering Contemplation and Finding a Home in Christianity – Cassidy Hall
Embodying the Christian Faith: Tattoos and Pilgrimage – Mookie Manalili
Starter episodes with Muslims:
Religious Pluralism v. White Supremacy in America Today – Wajahat Ali
How to be Visibly Muslim in the US Government – Fatima Pashaei
Bonus. Understanding the American Muslim Experience (Dr. Amir Hussain)
Episodes
101 episodes
New Land, New Religious Experiences? (part 2) – Judith Pajo, Zeyneb Sayilgan and Meli Solomon
Episode 101. This is the second part of my discussion with Judith Pajo and Zeyneb Sayilgan about living our faiths in America and Germany. While we have all lived in both countries, we practice different faiths, representing ...
New Land, New Religious Experience? (part 1) – Judith Pajo, Zeyneb Sayilgan and Meli Solomon
Episode 100. For this episode, I’ve invited two women, Judith Pajo and Zeyneb Sayilgan, for a group discussion about living our faiths in America and Germany. We each have unique patterns of immigration in addition to ...
Bonus. Building Trust Across Faiths (Lindsay Simmonds and Julie Siddiqi)
Episode 99. Bonus For this Bonus episode, I’ve invited two British women, Lindsay Simmonds and Julie Siddiqi, both PhDs, to talk about their interfaith friendship and the public facing work they’ve done since Hamas’ attack o...
How Faith Can Evolve Through Change – Aaron Solberg
Episode 98. (replay of Episode 78)Over the last two episodes with Judith Pajo and Zeyneb Sayilgan, we’ve talked quite a bit about faith challenges and dealing with changes in life that impact religious practice. Those change...
Grief as a Sacred Opening – Zeyneb Sayilgan
Episode 97. Burying a child is an unimaginable trauma that no parent should have to face. My guest today, Zeyneb Sayilgan, has sadly needed to endure that pain and grief twice. Through it all, her Muslim faith has sustained ...
How Interreligious Dialogue Can Expand and Challenge Your Faith – Judith Pajo
Episode 96. Have you lived in more than one country? Do you participate in interreligious dialogue or are you interested in it? Have you studied religion or theology? Not very many people can say yes to all of these qu...
Embracing Oneness: Jewish Mysticism in Practice – Lex Rofeberg
Episode 95. What comes to mind when you hear the term mysticism? Perhaps you imagine a yogi sitting cross legged in meditation, or people sitting in a circle chanting. Several religions have mystical practices, Sufism in Isl...
Reflection. Exploring the Intersection of Ramadan, Lent, and Passover (Meli Solomon)
Episode 94. Are you a Jew, Christian, or Muslim? Do you wonder about how your holiday this spring intersects with other holidays occurring at or near the same time? What do you make of that? And what does your holiday mean to...
Forging a more Resilient Faith After Doubt – Aubrey Chaves
Episode 93. Did you grow up in a highly observant home and religious community where surety of belief was the norm? Aubrey Chaves did, and much as she felt embraced by the family’s deep engagement within their Mormon c...
Building Peace Through Interfaith Dialogue – Raphael Luzon
Episode 92. Jews had lived in Libya since the third century BCE, but 1967 marked their final expulsion from the majority Muslim country. Raphael Luzon was a child at the time and fled with his family. Like many, they went to...
Reflection. Risks and Rewards of Declaring Your Religion (Meli Solomon)
Episode 91. In this episode, I delve into the complex intersection of personal faith and public roles. I reflect on my recent conversation with Chris Stevenson, founder of the National Museum of American Religion...
Exploring Religious Freedom in America – Chris Stevenson
Episode 90. Are you a museum goer? Are you interested in the history of religion in America? Is religious freedom in America important to you? If you answered yes to any of those questions, today’s episode will s...
Let's Eat Halal: Food By Muslims for Everyone – Shahed Amanullah
Episode 89. Every culture has its food, and in America, each immigrant group has contributed to the bounty of culinary options––from Italian pizza to Jewish delis and much more. Muslims are no different. What this group has ...
Reflection. Want to Increase Curiosity and Understanding? (Meli Solomon)
Episode 88. This episode is in memory of the passengers and crew of the DC and Philadelphia plane crashes and my friend Karen Hirschfeld. May their memories be for a blessing.This is the first of a new Reflectio...
Bonus. The Mormon Church is More Than You Think (Rick Bennett)
Episode 87. The timing of this Bonus episode is auspicious given the recent debate regarding learning about the history of race in America, the book bans, and the current administration’s aim to eliminate the federal department...
The Long Journey from Believer to Evangelical Critic – Dan Miller
Episode 86. Several big international changes have occurred since the last episode was released on the 9th of January. America witnessed another peaceful transfer of power, though it was immediately followed by some executive o...
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Religious Pluralism v. White Supremacy in America Today – Wajahat Ali
Episode 85. As the new secular year begins, along with the incoming presidential administration, it’s a good time to hear a shortened version of my conversation with the esteemed journalist and speaker Wajahat Ali. Given the do...
Mikveh: Reclaiming an Ancient Jewish Ritual – Haviva Ner-David
Episode 84. This week is the Jewish holiday of Chanukah which celebrates light in the dark days of winter. It is a time of contrasts and turning. Our candles add light in the darkness as we appreciate the slow turning towards l...
How to be Visibly Muslim in the US Government – Fatima Pashaei
Episode 83. Is someone in your family an immigrant? Or are you yourself an immigrant? Are you visibly a member of a race or religion? And how do these markers of identity affect your work life and general sense of belonging?
Ancient Prayers: Meaningless or Comforting? – Will Berry
Episode 82. 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name'. These opening words of the Lord’s Prayer from the Christian tradition, provide a salve for Will Berry when times are hard, and he doesn’t have words. As a parame...
Is a Loving God in the Brokenness and Darkness? – Will Berry
Episode 81. When you are swamped by tragedy and darkness, when all you are seeing is broken and the worst that society has to offer, what does your faith offer you? For Will Berry, a paramedic for 14 years, his Christian faith ...
Bonus. Tying the Knot in Faith (panel)
Episode 80. Bonus.Wedding ceremonies are universal and central to many religious and cultural groups. But they vary widely. In this conversation with four guests from different religious traditions – Judaism, Mormonism, Islam ...
Queering Contemplation and Finding a Home in Christianity – Cassidy Hall
Episode 79. In this conversation, Cassidy and I talk about her evolving, contemplative spiritual expression and identity as a queer Christian. We also touch on her view of scripture and incorporating various theologies and poet...
Discipline as a Necessary Struggle – Aaron Solberg
Episode 78. Father Aaron Solberg joined me to talk about his personal experience converting from the Orthodox Judaism of his childhood and his current practice of Christianity in a remote Canadian village. These are experiences...
On Campus: Protest or Conversation? – Aviva Stein
Episode 77. This is the second of a two-part series with my guest is Aviva Stein. In part one, we talked about her Jewish practice at UMass Amherst, where she is now a senior. Part two covers her engagement on campus in support of Is...
