True Believers

America’s hardcore polar political opposites seem to have something striking in common — they evoke a blind, unquestioning faith that feels like religion run amok. Religious scholar Reza Aslan likened Trump rallies to a religious revival, “complete with ritualized communal chants,” and he most loyally draws evangelicals who don’t really go to church. Columbia’s John McWhorter observes that the left’s true believers have their own version of Original Sin, rituals and dogma (and, notably, excommunication). We’ll talk about what this means about where we are — and what in the world we do about it. (Conversation predicted to include some whining about social media). Moderated by Fr. Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral.

Join us for a discussion with our panelists, Pastor Gary Shultz of the First Baptist Church of Tallahassee; Pastor Joseph Davis, Jr. of the Truth Gatherers Community Church; Dr. Dan Leshem, Director of Hillel at Florida State University; and Dr. Audrey Casserleigh, Professor of Emergency Management at Florida State University.

Mentioned in this program: 

Article by Maria Popova: Hannah Arendt on Loneliness as the Common Ground for Terror and How Tyrannical Regimes Use Isolation as a Weapon of Oppression

Article by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: The keys to understanding American anti-Semitism — and fighting back

Programming during the pandemic is made possible by a recovery grant from the Knight Foundation, through the Community Foundation of North Florida and a CARES grant from Florida Humanities with the support of National Endowment for the Humanities. We are deeply grateful for their support.