An expert on an issue that everyone is talking about — the intersection of religious and racial extremism — is the guest on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s TV show this Sunday.
Robert P. Jones is the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute. He’s a leading scholar and commentator on religion and politics who is frequently featured on national media such as CNN, NPR and The New York Times. Jones is the author of the 2016 book, The End of White Christian America, and the recently released White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.
"If you look at the relationship between holding racist attitudes and identifying as a white evangelical, that connection is actually stronger among those who attend church more frequently rather than less,” he tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. Jones notes that the nonreligious register the least racism.
If you don’t live in the quarter-plus of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel.
This is the fall season’s 23rd episode of “Freethought Matters,” airing in over a dozen cities on Sunday, Jan. 31.
Shows in the coming year will include interviews with Atheist Republic founder and former Muslim Armin Navabi; Nate Phelps, the freethinking son of the notorious Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church; and Law Professor Jay Wexler, whose most recent book is Our Non-Christian Nation.
“Freethought Matters” airs in:
- Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
- Houston, KUBE-IND (Ch. 57), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
- Minneapolis, KSTC-IND (Ch. 45), Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
- Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
- Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 8 a.m.
Previous guests from the fall season include: pundit Eleanor Clift, whose interview you can watch here, actor and FFRF After-Life Member John de Lancie of “Star Trek” “Q” fame, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse, the country’s leading analyst of the U.S. Supreme Court, and legislative stalwart and feminist and civil rights pioneer U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. One of the most eminent public intellectuals in the world, Professor Steven Pinker, was interviewed a few episodes ago talking about his new course on rationality. Legendary TV host, actor and singer John Davidson was the guest in early December. Recently, the show featured Ann Druyan, the co-creator of “Cosmos,” possibly the most acclaimed TV series of all time. And A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and the author of about 30 books, grappled on the show a couple weeks ago with philosophy and the pandemic, and discussed how he himself dealt as a nonbeliever with a personal tragedy.
Watch previous seasons here, including interviews with Ron Reagan, Julia Sweeney and Ed Asner, as well as U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.
Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.
P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers!