We are all Americans – of all ethnicities, cultures, and political persuasions.  We won’t allow ourselves to be divided.  We stand up, speak out, and we vote for preserving our democracy through free and fair elections to express the will of our majority, so that we can secure liberty and justice for all.

We can no longer deny that the seeds of racism and hatred are growing at a pace which threatens to choke our long-ago dreams of a multicultural paradise.

Faith & Reason is celebrating by talking to LGBTQ Christians and ministers about their experience in the church, as well as how individuals can help inspire progressive change in their own congregations.

The latest weekly episode of the Humankind on Public Radio podcast, which you can hear free when it’s released every Thursday, features our documentary, An Informed Republic. We explore the importance that America’s founders placed on the free flow of information for our participatory democracy to function.

This week is Canada Day and July 4, two celebrations of national life in North America. Both holidays are particularly complicated – even painful – this year as citizens in both Canada and the United States struggle with legacies of colonialism and racism in history and our political lives.

In mystical activism, we live more and more in the divine flow of here and now, and experience the sacred world in everything we do – raising our children, loving our family and our friends, performing our work, being kind and considerate, caring for community and environment, pursuing climate activism, and even in the simplest human acts of eating and drinking and loving – they are all sacred in awakened consciousness.

Inspired by Mark Gerzon’s book of the same name, director Ben Rekhi’s of-the-moment documentary shares stories of everyday Americans on the courageous journey of bridging our political and racial divides.

Over the weekend, the second annual Trans Resistance March (TRM) and Rally took place. Noticeably missing, guiding and participating in the march from Nubian Square in Roxbury to Franklin Park Playstead, was the presence of police and law enforcement. Numerous chants were heard along the route from marchers, revelers, and onlookers, bringing attention to many of the issues the black transgender community confront specifically. One chant was, “No racist police!”

I am an Anglican, but having accepted the concept of a non-theistic God, I feel uncomfortable attending church with all its outdated forms of worship. To leave the church, however, is to lose my “church family” and the human contact, as well as my part in the church’s ministries, all essential to the expression of God’s love.

I’ve always assumed that the grief Mary Magdalen expresses at Jesus’ tomb had a particularity to it. We know that he had cast seven demons out of her and that she supported his ministry out of her own purse. I do not know what it is like to be a woman 2,000 years ago who was the village demoniac, but I cannot imagine it was a pleasure.

For all of you grieving the loss of someone you love — whether this loss occurred last week, last year, or decades ago — I hope you find some comfort in these words, too. I hope you have the courage to tell the truth about your loved one: the good, the bad, and the complex. And that you don’t break faith with the full spectrum of your feeling, from mourning to dancing.

Paul learned from his encounter what it means to be a human being. He was shocked and deeply disturbed when he came to understand the limitations and weaknesses of his human nature. His sense of moral superiority was expunged from his consciousness.

A number of writers have been quietly working behind the scenes on a project called How to Heal Our Divides — where we’re bringing together practitioners of what Brian McLaren calls “un-division” to share their wisdom and stories.

Very little of the 19th century theology and practice, designed precisely for coexisting comfortably with slavery and segregation, has been reformed. From colonial America on, white Christians have literally built – architecturally, culturally and theologically – white supremacy into an American Christianity that held an a priori commitment to slavery and segregation.

The most significant factor that keeps the Black Church on the down-low are closeted, homophobic ministers. Pastor Donnie McClurkin- a three-time Gospel Grammy winner and the former poster boy for African American ex-gay ministries -is one example.  In a recent episode of TV One’s “Uncensored,” McClurkin talked about his sexual past. 

On Palm Sunday, there were two parades: one representing oppressive Roman Imperial Theology and one representing the compassion and selfless love of the Reign of God. Join Co-Executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org Rev. Dr. Caleb J Lines as he talks about the 8th Point of Progressive Christianity in relation to Palm Sunday.

O God, let us take in the moment of this day of crucifixion, not remembering it in the context of what came after it, but how it left Jesus’ disciples and followers in tragic sadness and heart-wrenched disillusionment.

In appreciation of the Capitol Police who defended Democracy on January 6.