Bill Moyers: faith and reason

Bill Moyers is back.

“…what is it about religion that’s got America hooked?

It’s an old debate between absolutes, the contrasting viewpoints of belief and disbelief that stirs the passions.

From the popular to the public square—79% of self-identified evangelical Christians cast ballots for President Bush in 2004—the tug of war between reason and faith is the undercurrent of our society in what some see as a fundamentalist era.

On one end of the spectrum people say, “Only religion counts.” On the other end, “Only reason counts.

‘How do we keep the public space between reason and faith, where most of us spend our lives, from becoming a no-man’s land of constant warfare?’
— Bill Moyers (Read the full essay.)

Resources for further investigation of the topics:

  • Faith & Doubt — Atheism to — absolute belief — about the many ways of faith and doubt
  • Faith & Politics — Founding fathers to faith-based initiatives — faith & politics around the globe
  • Freedom & Tolerance — School prayer to banned books — about freedom & tolerance
  • Faith & Science — From the First Cause to the Big Bang — about belief and science
  • Gender & Religion — The Goddess to St. Joan — about gender and religion
  • Myth & Sacred Texts — Global gates to mythology plus collections of sacred texts
  • Watch the full interview with Salman Rushdie
    or read the transcript