Can more faith—not less—heal our public life?

For a century, scholars argued that shrinking religion's public role would make politics calmer and more rational. In the last few decades, American religious participation has fallen faster than at almost any point in the nation's history, but our politics has only grown more polarized. What happened?

In this episode, we sit down with Matthew Kaemingk and Shadi Hamid, an evangelical and a Muslim, friends and collaborators across deep difference, to discuss their new book, which makes the case for religion as a constructive force in democracy.

Find their book Can Religion Save Democracy? here.

For decades, Americans have debated what kind of relationship there should be, if any, between religious institutions and public schools. Can schools honor the diverse religious beliefs of a student body without prioritizing one tradition? If religious institutions can use their resources to bolster public schools, should they?

In today's conversation, we're joined by Bryant Jensen of Brigham Young University and Irvin Scott of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. They've coauthored a report, which argues that partnerships with faith communities can enrich student learning opportunities, especially for those in disadvantaged communities. They advocate for a "third way” that avoids the two extremes of endorsing religion in schools, on one end, or entirely excluding it from the work of schools, on the other.

In this episode, we'll delve into what this "third way" relationship between faith institutions and public schools could look like, and what benefits it could bring to students, educators, and faith leaders.

Read the report here:

https://wheatley.byu.edu/0000019c-fd37-d3b9-a1dc-ffffc6470000/faith-in-educational-renewal-religion-as-a-resource-to-transform-learning-opportunities

In this episode, two eminent philanthropy leaders, Daniel Stid of the American Enterprise Institute and David Nassar of the John Templeton Foundation, discuss how charitable giving in America has transformed over the past three decades.

Their wide-ranging and insightful conversation traces philanthropy's turn toward "outcomes-oriented" giving, the growing influence of effective altruism, and how funders interact with religion and religious communities. The discussion also tackles a deeper tension: as funders seek measurable impact, are they inadvertently narrowing the diversity of ideas they can pursue?

Daniel and David explore the questions of philanthropic pluralism, the declining share of everyday Americans who give to charity, and why religious organizations, sometimes overlooked by secular funders may hold an underappreciated key to civic renewal.

What “The Wire” Has to Teach Us about Nonprofit Performance Measurement

Aspen Institute Generosity Commission Report