Episode 4 - Loosening The Bible Belt

In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the changing tide of religious expression in today’s South, and how factors such as immigration and the rise of atheism have altered the traditional idea of the South as being a region dominated by Christianity.  Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Anthony Pinn, a noted religious scholar and Professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, who will speak about the growing diversity of religions in the South today, and how many Southerners, including a large number of African Americans, are becoming more and more religiously unaffiliated. Also, Reverend Patricia Mathews, an Episcopal Priest based in Little Rock, Arkansas, who serves as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center, speaks about the power of interfaith dialogue among leaders of diverse religious communities in the South, and how these interactions have helped to foster greater religious respect and tolerance across the South. Dr. Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning in Houston, Texas. Reverend Patricia Mathews is an Assistant Rector at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center, where the group’s mission is to “reduce the fear and prejudice among the people of the world’s religions.”