Religion

Author Faith Jones was raised in the cult group the Children of God (later known as The Family and The Family International). Jones' grandfather founded the group around the belief that God is love and — taking it a step further — that, therefore, sex is godly. Berg preached that men could practice polygamy and that women must freely "share" their bodies, regardless of whether they wanted to — because sex was their service to God.

In 1977, Spong became one of the first American bishops to ordain a woman into the clergy. In 1989, he was the first to ordain an openly gay man. Spong died Sept. 12. Originally broadcast in 1996.

Deborah Feldman talks about breaking away from her arranged marriage and the fundamentalist religious community she was raised in. Her 2012 memoir inspired the Netflix series 'Unorthodox.'

Nézet-Séguin chose Verdi's Requiem for his 2012 inaugural performance as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He says the piece now helps him find a sense of connection during the pandemic.

Race and belonging are the central themes of Yaa Gyasi's work. Her 2016 debut novel, Homegoing, about slavery, won a National Book critic's circle award, and the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 honor.
Gyasi's new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, draws on Gyasi's life as the daughter of immigrants from Ghana.

The Catholic nun became an opponent of the death penalty following the events in her book Dead Man Walking. She details her spiritual journey in River of Fire. Originally broadcast Aug. 12, 2019.

In his new book, White Too Long, Jones examines the legacy of white supremacy among Southern Baptists and other Christian denominations. Jones says the Southern Baptist Convention tends to focus on each individual's interior relationship with God — and "essentially screens out questions of social justice."

The president isn't known for his faith. Instead, author Sarah Posner says he connects with Evangelicals by voicing the legal, social, religious and cultural grievances of the Christian right.

Bart Ehrman says the ideas of eternal rewards and punishments aren't found in the Old Testament or in the teachings of Jesus. His new book is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.