Democracy Not Theocracy: Confronting the Threat of Christian Nationalism To Preserve Our Religiously Diverse Nation

The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president of the Interfaith Alliance, will give a special Yachad lecture on Tuesday, May 2. His topic will be “Democracy Not Theocracy: Confronting the Threat of Christian Nationalism To Preserve Our Religiously Diverse Nation,” currently a special focus of the Alliance.

An ordained Baptist minister, Rev. Raushenbush is a longtime leader in the interfaith movement working to protect an inclusive vision of religious freedom for people of all faiths and none.

He is the great-grandson of the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and great-grandson of Baptist theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, a key figure in the Social Gospel movement, who taught in Rochester.

Prior to coming to Interfaith Alliance, Rev. Raushenbush served as senior vice president of the Auburn Seminary, the founding and executive editor of HuffPost Religion, associate dean of religious life and the chapel at Princeton University, and a founding editor of Beliefnet.com. Most recently, he was the senior advisor for public affairs and innovation at Interfaith America.

He also serves as host of State of Belief Radio, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast. Rev. Raushenbush previously hosted Huffington Post’s podcast “All Together” where he interviewed a diverse array of guests working at the intersection of religion and politics, including President Jimmy Carter, Patti Smith, RuPaul, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Rev. Raushenbush has spoken about religious diversity and the importance of inclusive religious liberty at colleges, churches and institutes around the country including The Chautauqua Institute, the Center for American Progress, the New America Foundation and the Aspen Institute. He is regularly invited to offer commentary on issues of religion and civil rights in national outlets including CNN, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, BBC, The Hill, Vice, and Religion News Service. He has published two books and contributed essays to several volumes on faith in public life.

He’ll speak in the sanctuary at Congregation Kol Ami at 7:30 p.m. on May 2. The Southern Tier Interfaith Coalition is a co-sponsor.

The program will also be available on Zoom, with registration at this link.