Broadcast: November 23, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
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Produced by David Freudberg in association with GBH/Boston. Progressive voices of conscience have long arisen in faith communities. They include Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Dalai Lama, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C. Mariann Budde and Rev. Raphael Warnock, current US senator from Georgia. This Humankind documentary explores the spiritual impulse for social change.
Part 1: Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde gave a stirring sermon at the National Cathedral in January 2025, the day after President Trump's second inauguration. Donald Trump and his family sat, sometimes uneasily, in the pews. She warned that a culture of contempt in American society threatens “to destroy us” and called for a new culture of unity based on humility and respect for the inherent dignity of others. We feature excerpts of her remarks — and those of other progressive faith leaders in American history, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., from his addresss on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Also heard is David Blight, the Yale historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Frederick Douglass.
Part 2: We profile Raphael Warnock, U.S. senator from Georgia, who is also a pastor. Most weekends he flies home to Atlanta, where he leads services at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the same congregation served by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Interviewed at his office in Washington, Sen. Rev. Warnock reflects on his childhood, growing up as the 11th of 12 children living in public housing. He also discusses the current political scene in which some are trying to “weaponize despair” as a way to disempower citizens. We hear Rev. Warnock in a rousing sermon “A Firm Foundation for a Shaky World”, which he delivered the Sunday after Donald Trump was re-elected in 2024. We include remarks by the late Congressman John Lewis, at whose funeral Rev. Warnock officiated. Also heard are the soul-sounds of a Gospel service at Ebenezer.