Story Archives of 'Religion'

This week marks Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to the United States. It’s the first time in the 21st Century that American Catholics will be visited by their Pope. But it also serves as a time for the one-quarter of Americans who identify themselves as Catholics to reflect on the state of the Church. We’ll look at the Catholic Church in 2008- who practices, how they do so, and what impact a new generation of worshipers is making.

Guests

• Father Edward Arsenault, Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Manchester
• Father Benedict Guevin, Benedictine monk and Professor of Theology at St. Anselm College
• Michelle Dillon, Catholic scholar, Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire, and author of Catholic Identity: Balancing Reason, Faith, and Power

"Under God". They are just two words out of thirty-one, but they have caused years of controversy. Added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 by Congress and then President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a way to distinguish the United States from the Soviet Union and it's so-called "Godless Communists", it has since become a hotpoint in the discussion over the separation of church and state and the basis for a lawsuit here in the Granite State. Today we explore the arguments for and against including "under God" in the Pledge and we want to hear what you think. Should it be in the Pledge? Why or why not? Were you in school when the Pledge was changed? Tell us your stories. Call or email us with your comments.

Guests

• Guy Macmillin, Editorial Page Editor for the Keene Sentinel.
• Drew Cline, Editorial Page Editor for the NH Union Leader and Sunday News.

We'll Also Hear From

• Dan Barker, Co-President and Co-Founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (a group which promotes the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism). The FFRF is part of the lawsuit filed by an anonymous Hanover, NH, couple last Fall to challenge the use of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire is unsettled. A few months ago, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney could look at the more reliable polls with some satisfaction. Now, the picture is not so clear. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani seems to have gained ground as have Arizona senator John McCain and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

This next installment of Primary Place, our series that follows the town of Exeter, focuses on the changing views among Republicans and what a Giuliani victory might do to GOP solidarity.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg has our report.

Religion as a tool of international diplomacy! Our guest, scholar Douglas Johnston, says with religion a root cause of so many modern wars, it must also be a part of the solution. And yet, he says, our Western, secular approach toward diplomacy leads us to ignore the positive role faith can play in conflict resolution. He calls it “the missing dimension” of our foreign policy.

Guest

• Douglas Johnston: president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. He led the seven year study that produced the book Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft and was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Marc Chagall is one of the 20th century's most intriguing painters. He was born a Russian Jew and his career spanned and was affected by two world wars, the Russian Revolution, the Holocaust and the birth of the state of Israel. We're going to talk with author Jonathan Wilson about Chagall's complicated life and how his ambivalence about his Jewish roots impacted his art. Wilson's new book is called Marc Chagall, and it's part of the Jewish Encounters series.