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The guest on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday warns that Pentecostalism is becoming the ascendant form of Christianity worldwide.
Elle Hardy, who joined the show from London, is an Australian-born writer whose new book is called Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World. It’s a fascinating exposé of how Pentecostalism, a deep-pocketed, tech-savvy Christian movement, is reshaping our societies from within. Hardy is a foreign correspondent whose writing has appeared in GQ, The Guardian, Lonely Planet, Foreign Policy, Business Insider and ABC Australia.
“This is really becoming the dominant expression of Christianity in the world today,” Hardy explains Pentecostalism to “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “It is a sort of a subsection of a denomination, but it’s really where all of the energy in the movement is right now. Churches from the old cathedrals in Latin America to churches to Methodist churches here in London are all trying to Pentecostalize because they can’t survive without looking more like these churches, because people can vote with their feet.”
Tune in to also find out what Hardy says about the importance of the “Nones” (nonreligious and unaffiliated) in checking this influence.
If you don’t live in the quarter-plus viewership of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
“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, KIAH-CW (Ch. 39), Sundays at 11 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, WFTC-29, Sundays at 7:30 a.m.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 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 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.
Upcoming guests include an interview with atheist and actor Madison Arnold, PRRI CEO Robert Jones and activists against priest abuse. You can catch interviews from past seasons here, including the fall 2022 season with author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and Washington Post columnist Kate Cohen. Previous interviews include Julia Sweeney and Reps. Jared Huffman, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson and Eleanor Holmes Norton, among many other notable authors, activists and freethinkers.
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 — your antidote to religion on Sunday morning!
