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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Faith And Reason Bring Bill Moyers Back To PBS With New Series Beginning June 23
Moyers and the World’s Storytellers Confront the Pressing Questions
Facing a World Divided Over God and Religion
“What kind of a god is it that's upset by a cartoon in Danish?” asks Salman Rushdie in the premiere episode of Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason. Rushdie is among the prominent authors featured in the PBS series, which takes on the most persistent questions facing us today. Is the vision of religious tolerance just a utopian dream? Are we destined to live out this century in a sectarian hell? In a world where religion is poison to some and salvation to others, how do we live together?
In the tradition of the landmark series Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason, premiering Friday, June 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), features provocative conversations with unique voices drawn from the group assembled at the PEN World Voices Festival in New York: Margaret Atwood, Mary Gordon, Martin Amis, Richard Rodriguez, and others. During the course of seven hour-long weekly episodes, Moyers takes viewers on a rare journey deep into these writers’ work and their own experience to plumb new ways of thinking about the role of religion in shaping our world. The resulting conversations provide revelatory observation on the long-running argument between believers and disbelievers, and enlightening perspective on the fear, violence and intolerance that grip our times. Reverent, irreverent, thoughtful and often humorous, these authors deliver fresh perspective that taps into an undercurrent in the national discussion and will resonate with the religious, the non-religious, and those in between.
“We're about eight Einsteins away from getting any kind of handle on the universe,” says Martin Amis, who is regarded by many critics as one of the most influential and innovative voices in contemporary British fiction.
“Why didn't Jesus write anything?” says Margaret Atwood, author of The Blind Assassin, Cat’s Eye, and The Handmaid’s Tale. “I think because once you write something down it becomes a permanent fixture and it becomes dogma.”
Mary Gordon, the well-known American author of Spending, The Company of Women, The Rest of Life, brings her viewpoint as a Christian and as a writer to the discussion, saying: “I like the religious perspective because it seems to create a language that explains more things about human beings than any other language.”
“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 between absolutes?” asks Moyers. “Writers of great literature give us the kind of perspective on that no-man’s land you can only get from the creative mind—a mind that because of the craft, conscience, and process of writing has grappled with religion in its complexities, it subtleties, and its extremes. They help us come to terms with the fact that in this new age, any transformative discussion must be one of reason and faith, not reason versus faith.”
Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason will be supported by an extensive companion Web site at www.pbs.org/moyers where visitors can interact, give feedback, and discuss the issues presented in the series. After the broadcast, each episode will be available in its entirety for viewing online.
“When there is conflict between the liberty of speech and the beliefs of private individuals, the liberty of speech must always take precedence,” says Rushdie, who spent five years underground after death threats and a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini calling for his assassination after publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. “Otherwise every other liberty, including freedom of religious observance, is put into question.”
The authors featured in Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason include:
* Martin Amis, Great Britain
* Margaret Atwood, Canada
* Mary Gordon, United States
* David Grossman, Israel
* Colin McGinn, Great Britain/United States
* Richard Rodriguez, United States
* Salman Rushdie, India/Great Britain
* Anne Provoost, Belgium
* Jeanette Winterson, Great Britain
Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason is funded by The Herb Alpert Foundation and our sole corporate funder Mutual of America Life Insurance Company. The series is a production of Public Affairs Television, Inc. and is a national presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York. Executive Editors: Bill Moyers and Judith Davidson Moyers. Executive Producers: Felice Firestone and Judy Doctoroff O'Neill; Series Producer: Sally Roy; Editors: Lewis Erskine and Andy Fredericks; Editorial Producer: Rebecca Wharton; Interview Development Producer: Ana Cohen Bickford.
The Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason Web site is produced by Kristin Miller.
Press materials and photos available for download at www.pbs.org/pressroom. Screeners upon request.
Press Contacts:
Rick Byrne
Public Affairs Television
212.560-8406
byrner@thirteen.org
Diane Domondon
Public Affairs Television
212.560.8530
domondond@thirteen.org
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
Facing a World Divided Over God and Religion
“What kind of a god is it that's upset by a cartoon in Danish?” asks Salman Rushdie in the premiere episode of Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason. Rushdie is among the prominent authors featured in the PBS series, which takes on the most persistent questions facing us today. Is the vision of religious tolerance just a utopian dream? Are we destined to live out this century in a sectarian hell? In a world where religion is poison to some and salvation to others, how do we live together?
In the tradition of the landmark series Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason, premiering Friday, June 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), features provocative conversations with unique voices drawn from the group assembled at the PEN World Voices Festival in New York: Margaret Atwood, Mary Gordon, Martin Amis, Richard Rodriguez, and others. During the course of seven hour-long weekly episodes, Moyers takes viewers on a rare journey deep into these writers’ work and their own experience to plumb new ways of thinking about the role of religion in shaping our world. The resulting conversations provide revelatory observation on the long-running argument between believers and disbelievers, and enlightening perspective on the fear, violence and intolerance that grip our times. Reverent, irreverent, thoughtful and often humorous, these authors deliver fresh perspective that taps into an undercurrent in the national discussion and will resonate with the religious, the non-religious, and those in between.
“We're about eight Einsteins away from getting any kind of handle on the universe,” says Martin Amis, who is regarded by many critics as one of the most influential and innovative voices in contemporary British fiction.
“Why didn't Jesus write anything?” says Margaret Atwood, author of The Blind Assassin, Cat’s Eye, and The Handmaid’s Tale. “I think because once you write something down it becomes a permanent fixture and it becomes dogma.”
Mary Gordon, the well-known American author of Spending, The Company of Women, The Rest of Life, brings her viewpoint as a Christian and as a writer to the discussion, saying: “I like the religious perspective because it seems to create a language that explains more things about human beings than any other language.”
“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 between absolutes?” asks Moyers. “Writers of great literature give us the kind of perspective on that no-man’s land you can only get from the creative mind—a mind that because of the craft, conscience, and process of writing has grappled with religion in its complexities, it subtleties, and its extremes. They help us come to terms with the fact that in this new age, any transformative discussion must be one of reason and faith, not reason versus faith.”
Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason will be supported by an extensive companion Web site at www.pbs.org/moyers where visitors can interact, give feedback, and discuss the issues presented in the series. After the broadcast, each episode will be available in its entirety for viewing online.
“When there is conflict between the liberty of speech and the beliefs of private individuals, the liberty of speech must always take precedence,” says Rushdie, who spent five years underground after death threats and a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini calling for his assassination after publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. “Otherwise every other liberty, including freedom of religious observance, is put into question.”
The authors featured in Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason include:
* Martin Amis, Great Britain
* Margaret Atwood, Canada
* Mary Gordon, United States
* David Grossman, Israel
* Colin McGinn, Great Britain/United States
* Richard Rodriguez, United States
* Salman Rushdie, India/Great Britain
* Anne Provoost, Belgium
* Jeanette Winterson, Great Britain
Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason is funded by The Herb Alpert Foundation and our sole corporate funder Mutual of America Life Insurance Company. The series is a production of Public Affairs Television, Inc. and is a national presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York. Executive Editors: Bill Moyers and Judith Davidson Moyers. Executive Producers: Felice Firestone and Judy Doctoroff O'Neill; Series Producer: Sally Roy; Editors: Lewis Erskine and Andy Fredericks; Editorial Producer: Rebecca Wharton; Interview Development Producer: Ana Cohen Bickford.
The Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason Web site is produced by Kristin Miller.
Press materials and photos available for download at www.pbs.org/pressroom. Screeners upon request.
Press Contacts:
Rick Byrne
Public Affairs Television
212.560-8406
byrner@thirteen.org
Diane Domondon
Public Affairs Television
212.560.8530
domondond@thirteen.org
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
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About Religion Press Release ServicesReligion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others. The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
