Must Religion Divide Us?: The Problems and Promises of Speaking of Faith in America Today. Krista Tippett Monday, January 23, 2006 at 7:30 pm Series: Preserving Spiritual Values in the Face of Religious Differences: A Series of Encounters

It’s possible to make the case these days that religion is at the root of the world’s worst problems, and that religious voices, when they enter our public life, often make clear thinking and insightful decision-making harder. Why is there such a chasm between the purpose of religion and its effect on our public life? Krista Tippett will explore this question in light of the riveting conversations she has each week with theologians and scientists, politicians and poets, on her national, weekly public radio program, Speaking of Faith. She is creating a new model for intelligent, open-hearted conversation that illuminates the many ways in which perspectives of theology, spirituality, and ethics can enrich our common deliberation on critically important topics in the news and in our lives. Krista Tippett is a journalist and former diplomat with a Masters of Divinity from Yale University. She is a graduate of Brown University, and a former Fulbright Scholar. Tippett went to divided Berlin in 1984 as the New York Times stringer. While there, she reported and wrote for a number of international news organizations in addition to the Times, among them Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune, ABC and the BBC. While at Yale in the 1990s, she worked as a chaplain to Alzheimer's patients, and was involved in the creation and management of programs for the homeless and inner-city children in New Haven and Philadelphia. Before creating Speaking of Faith, Tippett consulted with a number of organizations, including the internationally renowned Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John's Abbey and University. She is currently at work on her first book.