12:00: Americans are losing their faith
1:00: The Route's Dave Kane and Maureen Rich on speaking through songs
Faith levels in the U.S. are the lowest on record. That's according to a new Gallup poll. The data, as reported by Axios, shows fewer than half of Americans say religion is an important part of their day. The U.S. once ranked highly among wealthy nations for its religiosity. Now, Americans are tied to one of the largest declines in faith levels in the world. What has contributed to the change? And how do local faith leaders view it? We discuss those questions with our guests:
- Reverend Colin Pritchard, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Geneva
- Abu Saeed Islam, Ph.D., former president of the Islamic Center of Rochester
- Rabbi Peter Stein, senior rabbi at Temple B'rith Kodesh
Then in our second hour, they entertained listeners for years. The Route's Dave Kane and Maureen Rich have retired, and listeners say their popular shows — "Breakfast with the Beatles" and "Road to Joy," respectively — are already missed. The way we access and listen to music is changing. It’s a reminder of how valuable it can be for communities to have people like Kano and Maureen. They join us to tell some stories and to make the case for why calling in to request a song — while more time-consuming — beats having the world’s catalog on your phone. Our guests:
- Dave Kane, retired host of "Breakfast with the Beatles" on The Route
- Maureen Rich, retired host/producer of "Road to Joy" on WRUR/WITH; musician, lead singer and ukulele player with The TugHill Band and Tasty Parker
"Connections with Evan Dawson" is live streamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
