Bio

Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy, leads the national nonpartisan grassroots and
educational organizations, The Interfaith Alliance and The Interfaith Alliance
Foundation and serves as the Pastor for Preaching and Worship at Northminster
(Baptist) Church
 in Monroe, Louisiana.
Rev. Gaddy is the host of State of Belief,
a weekly radio show by The Interfaith Alliance that is carried on AirAmerica. State
of Belief
is based on the proposition that religion has a positive and
healing role to play in the life of the nation. Rev Gaddy is one of 20
international religious leaders on the Council of 100 Leaders, a group created
by the World Economic Forum to improve dialogue and understanding between the
Western and Islamic worlds.

In addition to being the author of over 20 books, Welton provides
regular commentary to the national media on issues relating to religion and
politics. Some of his appearances include CNN Presents: The Fight Over Faith;
PBS's NOW with Bill Moyers; PBS Frontline's The Jesus Factor;
PBS's The Newshour with Jim Lehrer; NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw;
CBS Evening News with Dan Rather; ABC World News Tonight with Peter
Jennings
; numerous National Public Radio stations including KQED's Forum
in San Francisco and KCRW's The Politics of Culture in Los Angeles;
CNBC's Capital Report; CNN's The World Today with Wolf Blitzer;
CNN's Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff; PBS's Religion and Ethics
Newsweekly
; CBS's Freedom to Pray; C-SPAN's Washington Journal;
NBC's Dateline. He is the former host of Morally Speaking on NBC
affiliate KTVE in Monroe, Louisiana.

Founded in 1994, The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) has grown into a
national grassroots organization of 150,000+ individuals of faith and goodwill
drawn from more than 75 different religious traditions or beliefs with a
cyber-network of 10,000 activists and 75 local activist groups. Dedicated to
promoting mutual respect, cooperation and civility, TIA strives to promote
religion as a positive and healing force in the life of the nation.

While ministering to churches with a message of inclusion, Welton
emerged as a leader among progressive and moderate Baptists. Among his many
leadership roles, he is the immediate past President of the Alliance of
Baptists and is a twenty-year member of the Commission of Christian Ethics of
the Baptist World Alliance. His past leadership roles include serving as a
member of the General Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, President
of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Chair of the
Pastoral Leadership Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.

Prior to the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist
Convention, Welton served in many leadership roles in the SBC including
membership on the convention's Executive Committee from 1980-1984 and Director
of Christian Citizenship Development of the Christian Life Commission from 1973-1977.

Welton received his undergraduate degree from Union University
in Tennessee and his doctoral degree and
divinity training from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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