Longer features follow, examining religious trends, profiling prominent spiritual leaders and showcasing ways in which ordinary people incorporate their faith into their lives. Lay experts like religion historian Martin Marty appear on the show alongside spiritual gurus such as rabbi and bestselling author Harold Kushner to provide commentary, context and conversation. Since the Newsweekly feeds on Friday afternoons for nationwide broadcast throughout the weekend, it's a challenge to break news on the show. Staff members keep an ear on religious newswires during tapings until the show feeds. He says they're currently preparing an exclusive scoop regarding an upcoming seismic shift in religious leadership.
Many stories investigate religious controversy.
First-season episodes included a discussion of whether terrorism contradicts the fundamental tenets of Islamic faith, and a profile of a deeply spiritual Catholic woman who works as a lay minister but cannot, according to recently reaffirmed Papal doctrine, fulfill her desire to join the priesthood. Acknowledging the fuzzy divide between religion and ethics, the program doesn't attempt to draw too fine a line between its two title subjects. The first season explored atheism, Scientology and the Celtic-based Wicca belief system, which Solomon likens to witchcraft. Our job is to fairly portray the search. Abernethy developed the program with this determined objectivity in mind.