A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

RELIGION 2.0

Program 09-08-30-A

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The geography of organized religion in America is changing. Today, more and more Americans identify themselves as spiritual, rather than aligning themselves with a particular religion. They're cobbling together faith and spirituality from sources all over the world, picking and choosing the same way we put together a sub sandwich at fast food restaurant. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge. Religion 2.0. We'll find out what spirituality looks like in today's world, from a punk Buddhist to a sufi rapper.

SEGMENT 1:

Clark Strand is the author of "How to Believe in God," and a contributing editor at Tricycle: A Buddhist Review. He tells Jim Fleming that the United States is unusual among developed nations for its continued religiosity, even while individual Americans increasingly decline to affiliate with any particular religious group, but still consider themselves spiritual people. Also, Brad Warner is a Japanese monster movie marketer, a blogger, a Zen Buddhist Master and plays bass in a punk band. His book is "Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate." Warner tells Steve Paulson how he found himself a Buddhist at the end of a truly atrocious year and how he values the sacredness in everyday life.

SEGMENT 2:

James Carse is the author of "The Religious Case Against Belief." He talks with Steve Paulson about the definition of religion and argues that one can be a religious person without believing in God. You can read Steve's interview with Carse at Salon.com. Also, Tsultrim Allione founded Tara Mandala, a retreat in Colorado, where she teaches students based on her Buddhist training in Tibet. She is also the author of "Feeding Your Demons." Allione tells Anne Strainchamps about the practice of feeding one's demons and how it relates to Western therapeutic techniques.

SEGMENT 3:

David Plotz is the editor of Slate Magazine dot com and the author of "Good Book." He tells Jim Fleming why he decided to read the entire Old Testament, and how the experience has changed his life.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-08-30-A.

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Books & CDs:

David Plotz, Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible (Harper)
Clark Strand, How to Believe in God: (Whether You Believe in Religion or Not) (Doubleday)
Brad Warner, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma (New World Library)
Tsultrim Allione, Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict (Little Brown)
James Carse, The Religious Case Against Belief (Penguin)

Websites:

• read Steve Paulson's interview with James Carse on Salon.com at
  http://www.salon.com/books/atoms_eden/2008/07/21/james_carse/index.html

Music:

• -Above the Clouds/ California Guitar Trio/ The First Decade/ CGT
  
• -Drop the A Bomb on Me/ Zero Defex/ ODFX
  
• -Opening Mandelbrot/ Blue Man Group/Blue Man Group Audio
  
• -Hallelujah (single)/ Rufus Wainwright/ Geffen Records
  
• -Full Power/ Sonik Gurus/ Pandaua/ Sounds True
  
• -Skyline/ California Guitar Trio/ CGT

Distribution dates: week of 07/25/2010 - hour 2 week of 08/30/2009 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

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