SPECIALS

The Spirit Calls

Since the 18th century, people have been predicting that the end was near for organized religion. But around the world, religion seems to be getting stronger—and the forces that were once thought to spell its doom may be fueling its revival. The stories this hour explore the links between religion and identity at a time of dramatic change.

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Feature stories heard in this hour

Rethinking France's Republican Deal In France, the notions of liberty, equality and fraternity apply to individuals, not groups. And indeed for more than 200 years, members of ethnic and religious minorities have tried to integrate as quickly and completely as possible. But today, French Muslims and Jews are under tremendous pressure to declare their differences. Frank Browning takes us into the world of the Alters, a Jewish family from Toulouse.

The Return of the Hellenes More than 95% of all Greeks are Greek Orthodox. But in the last few years there's been a revival of interest in the pre-Christian past. For some, that means worshiping the ancient gods. For others, it means taking another look at classical ideals like freedom, reason and democratic debate. All say their eyes are on the future. Jon Miller attends a "Hellene" convergence on Mount Olympus.

The Free Monks In Greece, the Orthodox Church has always presented itself as the guardian of national identity. But some in the Church don't think it's doing enough to protect the country from outside influences. The Free Monks is a rock band made up of black-robed monks whose music rails against globalization and the "New World Order." Jon Miller visits them in their monastery in central Greece.

Competing for Souls In the past 50 years, South Korea has gone through one of the most dramatic economic makeovers of any country on Earth. Its transformation into an industrial powerhouse has been accompanied by an equally dramatic spiritual shift. Today, with Christians dominant in political and economic life, Buddhists wonder whether they have a role to play in the country's future. Alan Weisman reports from Seoul.

Saints and Indians Between 1954 and 2000, tens of thousands of Native American children were sent to live with Mormon families during the school year. For some, "Placement" was a chance to escape the strains of reservation life. For others, it was a repudiation of their identity. For everyone, it was a life-changing experience. Kate Davidson spent a year with former students, hosts and program officials. Her story was edited by Deborah George.

Related stories

Cotopaxi Pilgrimage For the Tigua Indians of Ecuador, the spectacular 19,000-foot Cotopaxi volcano is both a sheltering spirit and a source of artistic inspiration. But the Tigua stopped visiting their sacred mountain in the 1970s, when the government declared it a national park and began charging admission. Recently two Tigua painters led an improvised pilgrimage to the volcano's glacier. Nancy Hand and Alan Weisman went with them.

The Face of the Shaman For thousands of years, the Mongolian shaman has been the intermediary between the human and spirit worlds: part healer, part prophet, part historian, part priest. Shamanism was suppressed for 70 years under communism. Now it's back in the open, competing for customers in a market that's crowded with alternatives. Allan Coukell spends time with both traditional and modern shamans.

Series credits

Executive Producer: Jon Miller
Associate Producers: Lara Ratzlaff and Melissa Robbins
Senior Producers: Sandy Tolan and Alan Weisman
Host: María Hinojosa
Engineer: Robin Wise of Sound Imagery
Theme music: Samite, whose non-profit organization is Musicians for World Harmony
Website design: Jackie Cerretani of Lost Art Media

Thanks to (alphabetically): the AIR listserve, Jay Allison, Chris Ballman, Helen Barrington, Vincie Bertolino, Deb Blakeley, Peter Breslow, David L. Brown, Steve Burke, Bill Buzenberg, Betsy Gardella, Deborah George, Peggy Girshman, Nancy Hand, Beckie Kravetz, Loren Jenkins, Martha Little, Ingrid Lobet, Margaret Low Smith, Joyce MacDonald, Amy Mayer, Rebecca Nelson, Eric Nuzum, Keith Porter, Nancy Postero, Jeff Ramirez, Rod Richards, Marcus Rosenbaum, Didi Schanche, Steve Schultze, Stu Seidel, Jacqueline Sharkey, Bill Sokol, Sue Schardt, Bari Scott, Lynn Szwaja, Gwen Thompkins, Jeff Towne, Cecilia Vaisman, Gosia Wojniacka, Ellen Yuan.

Thanks also to the following people for granting interviews for the Worlds of Difference specials: Vohra Anupam, Hurriyet Babacan, Tyler Cowen, Wade Davis, Jonathan Friedman, Chip Gagnon, Barry Gills, Michael Hardt, Debra Harry, Mickey Hart, Ronald Inglehart, Pico Iyer, Mark Juergensmeyer, Smitu Kothari, Luisa Maffi, Ali Mazrui, Bill McKibben, Walter Mignolo, Ashis Nandy, Brendan O'Leary, Agnes Pareiyo, Kaiping Peng, Jules Pretty, Amartya Sen, Richard Chase Smith, Suresh Sharma, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Rhajib Vohra, Owens Wiwa, Mato Wyacopi.

Major funding for Worlds of Difference comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Polson Institute for Global Development at Cornell University and the Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona.

Homelands Productions is a non-profit journalism cooperative specializing in radio documentaries. Its mission is to illuminate complex issues through compelling broadcasts, articles, books and educational forums, and to foster freedom of expression and creative risk through the media arts.

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