Religion

Actor Bill Paxton makes his directing debut with the new psychological thriller Frailty. He also co-stars in the film, along with Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe. Paxton previously starred in Twister, A Simple Plan, One False Move and Apollo 13.

Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter John Allen. He covers the Vatican for the paper and has a regular column, "The View From Rome." This week American cardinals are meeting in Rome to discuss the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in the United States.

Father Donald Cozzens is the author of The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul. He is president-rector and professor of pastoral theology at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland. He is also the editor of The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest. Father Cozzens will talk about the church's current sexual abuse scandals, and other crises facing the priesthood.

Sandi DuBowski's new documentary, Trembling Before G-d, tells the story of eight Orthodox Jewish men and women who have struggled to reconcile their love for their religion with their homosexuality. He is joined by Steven Greenberg, the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi and Michele Miller, a lesbian who was raised in a Hasidic Brooklyn family. The film shows in theaters now.

Professor of Politics with an expertise on the Arab World, Mamoun Fandy. He teaches at the Near-East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and regularly for The Christian Science Monitor. His latest book is Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent.

Religion scholar and former nun Karen Armstrong. She is the author of many books, including, A History of God, an examination of the fundamentalist movement in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths and Islam: A Short History. She's also the author of the bestsellers Jerusalem, and The History of God.

American Muslim Asma Gull Hasan. She the author of the book, now in paperback, –American Muslims: The New Generation— (Continuum press). ASMA was born in Chicago and is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants.

Writer Benson Bobrick. He's the author of the recently published "Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired." The book chronicles the difficulties scholars had in translating the Bible into English - efforts that culminated in the King James version. Bobrick is the author of several books and lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong. The best-selling author of The History of God, and The Battle for God, has a new book about the life of Buddha. From North India, Sidhatta Gotama, renounced normal life, leaving his wife and child to live alone and attain enlightenment. He found it through his own experiences, did not rely on a supernatural God, and fought against the cult of personality that would turn him into a leader. Instead the Buddha taught his disciples to discover the truth within themselves.

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong. She’s the author of the bestselling books “The Battle for God,” “Jerusalem,” and “The History of God.” She’ll discuss the religious history of the Middle East, and the significance of the region to the people there. She’s also written “Islam: A Short History” (Modern Library Chronicles).