In Good Faith

What does the Eucharist mean? Why is it so important to Catholics? This week, Steven Kapp Perry speaks with Marcy Youngster from The Catholic Whisperer Podcast. Their conversation explores how to deal with suffering, bullying, and trauma. Marcy shares how these hardships helped her form a definite belief in Christ, and how she uses this belief as a life coach. Marcy empowers women to embrace their...

What is a spiritual director? How do they differ from a therapist? In this episode of In Good Faith, Steve speaks with Doug Hardy to find out. Doug is the former president of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality. During his lifetime, he has also been a counselor, parish pastor, and professor. In his teachings, Doug intentionally creates time and space for silence, listening, and ref...

Steve sits down with Imam Shuaib Din, a friend of the show, for a conversation about the Hajj, ritual, and how he ended up in Utah. Imam Shuaib Din is the director of religious affairs at Utah Islamic Center located in West Jordan City, Utah. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Chicago, he graduated from the Institute of Islamic Studies in Dewbury, England, and completed a 5-year course in Islamic The...

For our 200th episode, Steve sits down with Rev Dr John J. Thatanamil in a wide-ranging conversation of how we know what we know and why we should trust other believers to know what they know. There's holy hymning, childhood memories, and an evaluation of lint brushes... John Thatamanil is a professor at Union Theological Seminary, the author of The Immanent Divine,: God, Creation, and the Human P...

This is the third of a three-part mini series on Passover. Eric Huntsman, author of Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating the Easter Season, discusses why Passover is important for Christians in understanding the historical Jesus and symbolism throughout the New Testament. He also answers the question, should Christians be holding their own Seder meals? Eric Huntsman, P...

This is the second of 3 interviews on Passover. We hope you enjoy all three. Steve discusses Passover symbolism with Rabbi Evan Moffic and asks, should Christians be creating their own Seder dinners? A graduate of Stanford University, Rabbi Moffic leads a congregation in the Chicago suburbs and teaches across the world, sharing Jewish wisdom, stories, and inspiration with people of all faiths.

This is the first of three interviews about Passover. We hope you enjoy all three. Steve chats with Cantor Sharon Brown Levy from Kol Ami in Salt Lake City about the musical rituals of Seder. The Cantor sings several songs for us, including Dayenu, the first psalm of the Hallel (Psalm 113), and the first of the four questions. Cantor Brown-Levy certified in cantorial arts from both the Reform Move...

Eid Mubarak! Today, we are inviting you to a casual conversation with two students at Brigham Young University who participate in Ramadan. They speak to their experience with fasting, how Eid is celebrated in their culture, and why they believe. Sama Salah is the President of the BYU Arab Student Association. The BYU Arab Student Association is the official club for BYU Arab/North African students...

Steve chats with Rachel Whipple, Shahab Saeed, and Kimberly Applewhite Teitter about what God's love means in their different traditions. Guests share scripture, hymn, and personal experience to help illustrate God's love. Rachel Whipple is an attorney and Provo City Councilor, and a former Research Fellow at the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. She is also a member of the Provo...

Welcome to our Love of God mini-series! We began with interviews from David N. Moore and Keyvan Guela. Now, we revisit conversations from past episodes that touch on God's love. This episode is organized roughly into a discussion of discovering God's love, learning to love those around us, how God's love is manifested through a certain prophet or messenger, and what we do in our daily lives to sho...

Continuing our love of God mini series, Steve speaks with Keyvan Guela about the Baha'i concept of love and Keyvan's personal experience of feeling God's love through the care of the people around her. Keyvan Guela is is the Founder and Executive Director of Center for Global Integrated Education (CGIE), a non-profit Baha’i-inspired educational organization, which explores oneness of all humanity....

Welcome to our Love of God mini-series! To kick it off, host Steve speaks with Rev. Dr. David Moore about the origin story of David's podcast, how to feel God's love, and learning to walk. The Rev. Dr. David Moore (he / him) is leads Santa Barbara’s Beloved Community Church, and also Jesus Collective, an online community that fosters wholeness and equity by healing relationships and cultural divid...

BYU's IFSA came to the In Good Faith studios to talk to Steve about their community projects and motivations. Dr. Andrew Reed teaches comparative religion courses and church history. He is the Chair of the BYU Council for Interfaith Engagement and an organizer and participant for the Jewish - Latter-day Saint academic dialogue or read the latest piece written for the Religious Education Review (Fa...

Steve sits down in studio with Drs. Esther-Miriam Wagner and Emma Harris from the Woolf Institute of Cambridge University to discuss why the British don't "do" religion and how their institute hopes to change that attitude. Dr. Esther-Miriam Wagner is the Executive Director of the Woolf Institute and Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. She is an Affiliate Lecturer at the Faculty of Asian and...

Steve and Heather chat about their upcoming TV documentary on BYUtv. Get the app or find the channel on ROKU.

Today, Steve talks with Rabbi Dr. Shaul Praver, a first responder at the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. Praver was a leader in helping to heal the community in the aftermath. For his community work he has earned the Samaritan Medal of Peace and Humanitarian Accomplishments and was named one of the 50 most influential American Rabbis by Newsweek magazine, b...

This week, we hear from Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Dr. Susan M. Shaw. They speak with senior producer Heather Bigley about their book, "Surviving God: A New Vision Through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors." While the interview is not graphic in any way, be aware that we're discussing a difficult topic. Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim is a professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion and auth...

Steve chats with James Goldberg about his religious heritage and offering charity to those who came before us, as people working to build and experiment in the art of religion. James Goldberg is an American historian, playwright, poet, and writer. He has Jewish, European, and Punjabi ancestors; his grandfather, Gurcharan Singh Gill, was the first Sikh to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d...

Steve sits down with Oren Jay Sofer and chats about how meditation is needed in tumultuous times, how to develop inner strength, and how the play of small children is an important skill we all should retain. Oren Jay Sofer teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and communication internationally. He holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University and is a Certified Trainer of Non...

We first spoke with Leah Marett in a bonus episode with students at BYU involved in interfaith work. We loved her story, so we invited her back for a full episode! Leah Marett is the host of the The Non-Member Project podcast, drawing from her experiences as a Protestant Christian student at Brigham Young University. Currently, she is earning her Master’s degree in Athletic Training.

Steve speaks with Yasminah Respes Huberman about her family's Jewish heritage, her own experience moving to Israel, and the importance of education. Yasminah Huberman is the host of The Jewish Education Experience Podcast, and the founder of Lamed Learning Center which provides learning opportunities for families. She is originally from Southern NJ where she grew up attending Hebrew School and the...

Steven Kapp Perry speaks with Gray Cox about the new age of AI and its influence on religious life. Artificial Intelligence has made its way into nearly every conversation over the last few months. We're wondering, What does this mean for religious practice? Dr. Cox discusses how we train AI matters and reflects our own spiritual concerns. Gray Cox is the author of “Smarter Planet or Wiser Earth?”...

This week, we hear from Alejandra Oliva, author of 'Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration'. She discusses the difference between being interested in an issue, and being involved in the issue. Her conversation with senior producer Heather Bigley covers the spiritual needs at the border. Alejandra Oliva is an essayist, translator, immigrant justice advocate, and embroiderer. Curre...

This week on In Good Faith, Steve speaks with Wendy Goldberg in the first half of the episode and Rabbi Joe Charnes in the second half. Both our guests are passionate in interfaith bridge building, and we were excited to hear what they are accomplishing in their communities. Wendy Goldberg is the executive director of the Tri-Faith Initiative, an interfaith organization that houses a mosque, synag...

Our first IGF Book Club of 2024! In this episode, we're reading the Bhagavad Gita, as translated by Laurie Patton. We actually interviewed Laurie on this show in 2020, so if you want to hear her voice, check out episode 77. Professor Ravi Gupta leads host Steven Kapp Perry through a discussion of the Hindu holy scripture; they're joined in studio by producers Heather Bigley, Lia King, and Ashton R...