Jeff Sharlet is a writer whose beat is belief and faith in America. His books have chronicled fundamentalist dogma in the nation's capital and Wiccan ceremonies in the nation's heartland. His most recent work is a collection of nonfiction essays called Sweet Heaven When I Die: Faith, Faithlessness and the Country In Between. It examines personal faith on a variety of levels in American culture.
WUOT All Things Considered host Brandon Hollingsworth spoke with Sharlet this week. In the special extended cut, Sharlet and Hollingsworth talk about the nature of faith in the United States, the changing role of religious belief and the upside of campaigning for office on one's religiosity.