The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Denomination: American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA)
Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush , a Baptist minister, is senior adviser for public affairs and innovation at Interfaith Youth Core and former president of the Association for College and University Religious Affairs.
He formerly was Senior Vice-President at Auburn Seminary and Editor of Voices. He was also previously the Executive Editor Of Global Spirituality and Religion for the Huffington Post. From 2003-2011, Raushenbush was the Associate Dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at Princeton University. He was the President of the Association Of College and University Religious Affairs (ACURA) from 2009-20011.
An ordained American Baptist minister, Rev. Raushenbush speaks and preaches at colleges, churches and institutes around the country including The Chautauqua Institute, the Center for American Progress, the New America Foundation and the Aspen Institute.
Raushenbush is regularly invited to offer commentary on issues of religion and society on national television and radio. His first book, Teen Spirit: One World, Many Faiths (HCI) was released in the Fall of 2004. He is the editor of the 100th Anniversary edition of Walter Rauschenbusch's book, Christianity and the Social Crisis - In the 21st Century (HarperOne).
He was the Co-Director of the Program on Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations at The Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination at Princeton University.
Day1 Weekly Programs by The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
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The Sin of Ignorance
Tuesday February 15, 2011
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush peels through the layers of one of Jesus' most dramatic parables--the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16)--and reveals some surprising lessons for us today.
Articles by The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Paul Raushenbush: Celebrate Facebook’s Outage? Many Faith Communities Couldn’t Talk at All
Thursday October 07, 2021
The response from at least some portion of Facebook’s 3.5 billion users to its five-hour outage on Monday went something like this: “Good, I’m glad it’s down, may it stay down forever.” But...
Paul Raushenbush: Dwelling in the Cathedral of John Lewis' Spirit
Wednesday July 22, 2020
I’m imagining Rep. John Lewis’ spirit today, just a few days after his bodily life ended. I want to take time here, taking my hat off, entering with humility and hope, removing my shoes, gazing with wonder at the spirit’s great cathedral filled with multi-colored light streaming in through illuminating windows, each reflecting another story in his life.
Paul Raushenbush: What happens when a virus forces faith communities to go virtual
Thursday March 12, 2020
When two or three are gathered on Facebook, is Christ there? When 10 Jews meet on a Zoom call, is it a minyan? Over the past few days, as states have asked houses of worship to suspend services, synagogues have held muted Purim celebrations and other religious meetings and services have been canceled, people have already begun mourning the loss of community.
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: The Right to Privacy and Religious Communities
Friday April 20, 2018
Facebook often reads like a prayer circle in religious communities.... Religious life happens in real time online on Facebook, as well as all other forms of social media. Which is why the absence of religious voices in the current ethical debate about how Facebook is using our information is all the more curious and troubling.
Paul Raushenbush: 12 Spiritual Leaders: A Surprising Surge Of Hope
Friday November 17, 2017
It has been a long year, and, for those of us who work in the multifaith movement for justice, our worst fears have been realized.
Paul Raushenbush: Is Not This the Fast I Choose? Isaiah 58 for America in 2017
Thursday March 02, 2017
An American interpretation of Isaiah 58 on Ash Wednesday, 2017.
Paul Raushenbush: Dreaming of November 9
Saturday October 29, 2016
I’m dreaming of November 9th, when our national fever has broken and the night sweats are washed away, and while still weak, we open ourselves up to a shared journey of recouping our strength and restoring our fragile constitution.
Paul Raushenbush: The Circle Of Violence Must Stop... With Us
Wednesday September 21, 2016
Violence is all around us. Guns and fingers pointed at all sides. These last months have seen horrific violence. It goes around and around, getting stronger as it sinks to new depths. It is up to all of us to stop it.
Paul Raushenbush: Becoming Wise: Krista Tippett’s Artful Adventure
Thursday June 30, 2016
In her new book, “Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living,” Krista Tippett synthesizes and shares what she has learned from hundreds of conversations with diverse thought leaders. The book is most remarkable for Tippett’s own voice that radiates from the page, reflecting the generous hospitality she brings to conversations with others ”” and sharing her unique and profound wisdom that resulted from these experiences.
Paul Raushenbush: 5 Vital Signs of Spiritual Life on a College Campus
Wednesday January 13, 2016
The following piece is an edited version of a talk delivered on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Kay Spiritual Life Center at American University.
Paul Raushenbush: 7 Reasons To Hang Out With Your College Chaplain (Even If You're Not Religious)
Saturday September 12, 2015
Whether you are about to step foot on your future alma mater for the first time or are returning to pick up your college life where you left it last spring, you should definitely stop by the chaplain's office this semester.
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: The One Surefire Way To Have An Unforgettable Wedding
Saturday August 29, 2015
The secret to a truly beautiful, fun and unforgettable wedding is to spend at least as much time planning the actual ceremony as you spend on every other detail.
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: Prayers for President Jimmy Carter
Friday August 14, 2015
Jimmy Carter is no stranger to cancer. In his remarkable book A Full Life: Reflections at 90 he writes of how he lost his father and two siblings to pancreatic cancer, all before they reached 60.
Paul Raushenbush: Belgian Muslim Community Reminds Us That Peacefully 'Living Together' Is the Under-reported Norm
Friday July 10, 2015
Have you heard the story about the Muslim community in Belgium that raised money to restore a local synagogue? Probably not. But it is really important that you do.
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: It's A Great Time To Be Graduating From A Mainline, Progressive, Christian, Divinity School
Thursday June 04, 2015
The following is an edited version of the Commencement Address I delivered at Third Presbyterian Church on May 16, 2015 for the graduating class at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.
Paul Raushenbush: ISIS and the Crisis of Meaning
Tuesday September 02, 2014
ISIS and other radical groups are deadly serious about reaching out to young people with their skewed version of meaning that leads to death and destruction. Are we just as serious in reaching out to offer meaning that results in affirming life and creating a better world?
Paul Raushenbush: How These Righteous Religious Leaders in Ferguson Are Giving Us Hope
Thursday August 21, 2014
Clergy and lay people have played a crucial role in Ferguson. Men and women, black and white, Jews, Muslims, and Christians; they have served as a point of contact between the community and the civic authorities; acted as a safety buffer between protestors and police, collected and distributed food, opened spaces for youth, and cleaned up after the protest. Most importantly, these righteous religious leaders continue to witness for justice for Michael Brown and against systemic racism and inequality.
Paul Raushenbush: What Can Christians Do About Iraq?
Saturday August 09, 2014
Outrage has been growing over the last few months as the Islamic State (formerly known as the Islamic State in Syria and al-Sham, or ISIS) has continued to expand its ruthless control over parts of Syria and Iraq. Christians worldwide have been particularly concerned about the effect of this expansion on Christian communities in the region.
Paul Raushenbush: The Life After Death of My Mother Marylu de Watteville Raushenbush
Friday July 11, 2014
The life of Marylu we remember after her death includes both the powerful and vulnerable times, and we feel deeply grateful for all of it. But what of her life now?
Paul Raushenbush: 25 Things My 25-Year-Old Self Would Tell Me on My 50th Birthday
Tuesday July 01, 2014
I turned 50 years old last week and, on the whole, I'm pretty happy about it. I'm healthy, I'm married to an incredible guy, I'm close with my family, I have interesting and inspiring friends and I have work that is fulfilling. Turning 50 doesn't seem so bad because I have never been happier in my life.
Paul Raushenbush: The Stunning Resurgence of Progressive Christianity
Saturday June 14, 2014
There has been a largely unnoticed but radical movement over the last decade during which the spiritual fire has shifted to more progressive Christians and that has the potential to change both the political and spiritual landscape of America.
Paul Raushenbush: Noah: A Midrash by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel (Interview)
Thursday March 27, 2014
When Darren Aronofsky was 13, he wrote a poem inspired by the biblical story of Noah that won an award from the United Nations and was part of a lifelong quest to bring the story to the big screen. After 10 years of trying to develop the project in Hollywood, Darren Aronofsky and co-writer and producer Ari Handel will introduce their interpretation of Noah to the world this Friday when the movie opens across the country.
Paul Raushenbush: Why I Love Lent
Thursday March 13, 2014
I wasn't raised in a household that observed Lent and only began to get into it once I was introduced to the more liturgical traditions while at seminary. My mother always thought it odd that I would observe this season believing that one of the finer things about being a protestant was not having to do dreary old Lent.
Paul Raushenbush: What Will You Worship in 2014?
Wednesday January 08, 2014
The start of the new year is a good time to ask ourselves the ultimate question: To what will we devote our life in this very short span of time that we have in this world? What will captivate us, be the focus of our life's energy, be what we care most about in the world. In short -- what will we worship?
Paul Raushenbush: How the State Department Is Getting Religion
Tuesday November 26, 2013
When Secretary John Kerry took over the State Department from Secretary Clinton, he found that the legal and conceptual framework for an Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives had already been laid. Deciding to go ahead with the new office, Kerry called a professor of theology at Wesley Theological Seminary named Shaun Casey, who happens to be one of the most religiously knowledgeable and connected people in Washington.
Paul Raushenbush: How Not to Talk About the Beliefs of Others
Tuesday November 05, 2013
Recently two celebrities offered us mirror textbook cases on how not to talk about the belief -- or lack thereof -- of another.
Paul Raushenbush: The Redemption of A.M. Homes
Tuesday October 01, 2013
Warning: In A.M. Homes' most recent book, May We Be Forgiven, you will read of a tragic accident that wipes out a family, adultery, pride, hatred between brothers, sexual addiction, attempted murder, death and insanity -- and then you can go on to the second chapter. However, from the novel's devastating beginning emerges a painful process of redemption.
Paul Raushenbush: Pope Francis Moves Church Beyond Gays and Abortion -- To People
Monday September 23, 2013
Pope Francis continues to radically refocus the Catholic Church and, even as a non-Catholic, I am beginning to view him as a personal pastor.
Paul Raushenbush: Don't Mess with Joan Brown Campbell!
Tuesday August 20, 2013
The following 'roast' was delivered at the Chautauqua Women's Club to honor the Many Faces of Joan Brown Campbell as she retires from her position as the Director of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution.
Paul Raushenbush: How Christianity Became Cool Again
Friday August 02, 2013
Given the last several decades of political domination of Christianity by a coalition that described themselves as the religious right, it is hard to remember that there was a time in the 20th century when Christians were cool and spoke with a powerful, prophetic voice to the major issues of our day. Well, 2013 may be the year that changes.
Paul Raushenbush: The Role of Faith in Family Planning
Thursday June 06, 2013
It is crucial to talk about the role religion can play in the effort to empower girls and women in the area of family planning -- especially given that close to 90 percent of all people alive adhere to some religious belief, and that in rural areas of many developing countries health care is provided by religious organizations, or not at all.
Paul Raushenbush: Talking With Anne Heche About God, Love and 'Save Me'
Friday May 31, 2013
My interview with Anne Heche has made me eager to watch what looks to be a very funny, brave and timely series that puts God on primetime in a way that we have never seen him/her before.
Paul Raushenbush: Face to Faith: Three Crucial Testimonies of Friendship Across Religious Divides
Saturday May 11, 2013
In most communities around the world, religious diversity is a fact -- Hindus live next to Muslims, Mormons next atheists, Jews with Christians. One of the great tests of the 21st century is how we leverage this diversity into an asset that leads to more vitality and unity rather than leading to discord and disintegration.
Paul Raushenbush: Responding to Boston with Holy Anger
Thursday April 18, 2013
After an evening of witnessing the carnage on the streets of Boston, hearing the stories of horror from the hospitals and imagining the Richard family, whose beloved 8-year-old boy is dead, mother seriously wounded and daughter, age 6, whose leg is gone, the natural reaction is horror, grief and intense anger.
Paul Raushenbush: Prayers for Rick Warren and His Family
Monday April 08, 2013
To Rick and Kay, know that we are praying for you today and our hearts are breaking for the loss of your beloved Matthew and the grief you are experiencing.
Paul Raushenbush: Pope Francis: The Holy Spirit At Work?
Wednesday March 20, 2013
The last few days have provided a series of important moments which are worth reviewing to understand why Pope Francis is getting such well deserved praise and is the object of such fervent, if guarded, hope.
Paul Raushenbush: The Complex Legacy of Pope Benedict
Saturday February 16, 2013
Pope Benedict has announced his plans to resign at the end of February and a Vatican spokesperson insists that there will be a new Pope selected by Easter.
Paul Raushenbush: Should We Give a Homeless Man Shoes?
Monday December 10, 2012
It started out as the most heartwarming story of the week. A NYPD cop caught in the act of buying socks and shoes for a homeless man he saw barefoot on a cold night. But the story didn't end there. And the moral questions the story evoked got more complicated.
Paul Raushenbush: We're Gonna Die and It Will Be OK
Friday September 21, 2012
Placing death in front of us is an old trick. Christian monks greet each other with the reminder that they are dust all the time. And a Buddhist poet recently showed up at my friend's birthday party with a gift of a T-shirt with a message declaring: "This Body Will Be A Corpse." Happy birthday indeed!
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: The Difference Between Muslims and Sikhs...Misses the Point
Monday August 06, 2012
In the immediate aftermath of the horrific shooting at the Sikh Gurdwara (that's the name of a Sikh House of Worship, not temple, not church), the media began to emphasize the difficulty many Americans have distinguishing between Sikhs and Muslims.
Paul Raushenbush: Ask Pastor Paul: God, War and Sports
Tuesday July 03, 2012
Why should anyone be religious when so many of the wars and prejudice have been based on religion? Pastor Paul responds to this question and more in his latest column.
Paul Raushenbush Interviews Sister Joan Chittister: In Praise of Courageous Nuns
Friday June 29, 2012
It has been a rough spring for American nuns. They've been thinking unapproved thoughts and talking out of turn -- and the male hierarchy of the church is not happy. And they are doing something about it.... I recently called Sister Joan Chittister to check up with her.
Paul Raushenbush: A Chaplain's Advice on How to Be There for Our Troops
Thursday June 21, 2012
In order to get some advice on what civilians might do for soldiers and their families, I recently spoke to Captain Scott Kennaugh who serves as one of the chaplains at Arlington National Cemetery. Chaplain Kennaugh is one of the 3000 chaplains who offer spiritual and emotional support to our troops
Paul Raushenbush: Would King Have Evolved On Gay Rights?
Tuesday June 05, 2012
President Obama's declaration of support for marriage equality has created an uproar in Christian communities across America, and nowhere more poignantly than in the Black Church where the President is largely admired, but which has traditionally been more socially conservative on issues of sexuality.
Paul Raushenbush: "Whom Shall I Fear?" The Incomparable Testimony of Rep. John Lewis
Monday May 28, 2012
HuffPost's Senior Religion Editor, Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, spoke to Rep. John Lewis about his new book, "Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change;" and the powerful role that faith, nonviolence and reconciliation played in the civil rights movement, and what lessons these principles can teach us today.
Paul Raushenbush Interviews Elaine Pagels on "Revelations"
Tuesday April 03, 2012
HuffPost Religion Editor Paul Brandeis Raushenbush spoke with Princeton University religion professor Elaine Pagels about her new book "Revelations" -- what drove her to write it, why the book is considered so controversial and what we can learn from the Book of Revelation today.
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush: Ask Pastor Paul: What Is Karma?
Sunday February 19, 2012
In another installment of his religious Q&A column, the Rev. Paul Raushenbush answers this and other questions: "Dear Pastor Paul, Is there such a thing as karma? Have we lived in a previous life?
Ask Pastor Paul: Answering Questions About the Afterlife
Sunday February 12, 2012
In his latest spiritual advice column, a reader asks the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, "I am really struggling with the concept of an afterlife, of heaven, and why some people seem to suffer so much (as my Dad did) when others do not. Is my Dad enjoying his final resting place or is he just gone?"
Paul Raushenbush: Ask Pastor Paul
Sunday February 05, 2012
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, editor of The Huffington Post Religion section, answers questions and offers spiritual advice.
Paul Raushenbush: Ask Pastor Paul: Spiritual Advice for the Real World
Friday January 27, 2012
Ask Pastor Paul: Spiritual Advice for the Real World is the new weekly advice column for your dilemmas of the mind, body and spirit.
Paul Raushenbush Interviews President Jimmy Carter
Sunday January 15, 2012
In this wide-ranging interview, HuffPost's Senior Religion Editor spoke to President Carter by phone about the role faith played in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, the time of his greatest alienation from God, faith in the White House and his personal daily devotional practice.
Paul Raushenbush: 9/11 Anniversary: Finding Hope & Healing at Ground Zero (Video)
Sunday September 11, 2011
On the anniversary of 9/11, Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Religion editor, went to St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero to talk with clergy and lay people about where they find hope and healing ten years later.
Paul B. Raushenbush: Ten Years after 9/11, Has Religion United or Divided Us?
Thursday September 08, 2011
Two religious responses from the days immediately following the attacks of 9/11 demonstrate how religion has been both a divisive and unifying force in America over the last ten years.
The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: Memorializing Martin Luther King Jr., the Prophet of Progress
Monday August 29, 2011
Many would say that the Washington Mall's recognition of the most important religious and civic figure of the 20th century is long overdue, and they would be right. But what is clear is that America needs this monument to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- right now.
Paul Raushenbush: StreetSoul: What Is Prayer?
Tuesday August 02, 2011
StreetSoul is hosted by Huffington Post Senior Religion editor Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, who takes to the streets this time to ask, "What Is Prayer?"
Video by The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush - Day1 Conversations
Tuesday March 22, 2011
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University and Religion Editor at The Huffington Post, sits down with Day1 host emeritus Peter Wallace to discuss the direction of the church in a new age how the message of the gospels and the church are faring in a new media age.