Sacred Steps

Women don’t always feel welcome in American mosques. They’re sometimes turned away, sent to basements to pray, or discouraged from serving on the boards of directors. Aisha al-Adawiya has devoted her life to changing that. She’s inspired a national campaign — and a fatwa — that’s persuading the men who control mosques to share space and power.

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Independent producer Maria Martin offers this remembrance of the late Sister Dianna Ortiz, who survived torture in Guatemala during the 1980s. She and went on to fight for human rights and to speak out about the use of torture globally. She did so until her death in February 2021, even while still suffering from the trauma of her experience.

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The Central American country of Guatemala promotes its indigenous heritage to tourists. At the same time, its government has historically marginalized and discriminated against the Maya, many of whom endured terrible violence during a decades-long civil war. Twenty five years after the war’s end, human rights leader Rosalina Tuyuc is promoting healing for her people based on ancient Maya wisdom.

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California reports more cases of human tracking than any state In Oakland, most sex trafficking victims are Black girls under the age 18. Regina Evans is an activist and artist using her creative gifts to call attention to this crisis and rescue girls.

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Caroline Yongue runs a small green burial cemetery in Western North Carolina.  It’s part of a larger project to change how Americans approach death and grief — creating new ways to live with loss, from the ground up. 

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Mehool Sanghrajka isn’t your typical tech CEO. To start with, his worldview is grounded in ancient Indian philosophy, one which inspires him to serve not just his close-knit religious community, but extends to people he’s never met.

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COVID-19 prison lockdowns prevented family and friends from visiting the nation’s nearly two million prisoners. They also shut down education programs. However, at a maximum security prison near Chicago, one trail-blazing instructor managed to keep reaching inside.

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Former President Trump labeled COVID-19 the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu.” Since then, violence targeting Asian Americans has surged. Russell Jeung, the co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate coalition, is determined to make this reality known.

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When people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo confronted a deadly and highly contagious disease. mental health counselor Noe Kasali recognized a problem. In the face of so many losses, survivors had no way to grieve.

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A new generation of anti-poverty activists are looking to end poverty in the United States. They want to build on the movement started by Martin Luther King. Shailly Gupta Barnes grounds her commitment to economic justice in her family’s Hindu traditions.

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Most religions teach people to help those in need. But what happens when that mandate clashes with how the government views the law? After federal prosecutors cracked down on volunteers providing aid on the border, Scott Warren faced decades in prison for following his conscience.

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A Honduran Catholic priest fondly known as Padre Melo risks his life to speak up on behalf of his country’s most vulnerable people.

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After decades of work with immigrant detainees, Sisters JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy still aren’t slowing down. They say their age is irrelevant when there is so much need.

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Al and Andi Tauber are taking their ministry and music to the streets, where they’ve found heartbreak…and a family.

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A Palestinian fighter hears a melody that becomes his touchstone for peace as he tries to walk the path of reconciliation amid one of the thorniest conflicts imaginable.

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A former Israeli soldier starts to question violence towards Palestinians and finds himself under fire by his own government. He then suffers an identity crisis. What does it mean to be Jewish if he’s no longer a Zionist?

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For most of her life, Neets’aii Gwich’in leader Sarah James has worked to protect her homelands, including the coastal plain of the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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Sarah Byrne-Martelli, a hospital chaplain in Boston believes no one should die alone.

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Season 1 of The Spiritual Edge begins with our new series, Sacred Steps: profiles of people rooted in a personal faith, and activated to look out for the wellbeing of others.

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