Whether you love or hate politics, it’s hard to deny that when it comes to identity and culture, this year’s presidential election is truly historic. The incumbent is, of course, half black and thus, a racial minority. The challenger is Mormon, and thus, a religious minority. What if you’re one of the one million Americans who is both black and Mormon? How does identity factor in? Two African-American Mormons join us today to share their thoughts.

Over the past few years, The Daily Show has grown into a cultural phenomenon and a political powerhouse. But when The Daily Show began in 1996, Comedy Central was a tiny network with few cable subscribers. Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, writes in her new memoir, "Lizz Free or Die," that the show's remarkable success was predicated on the "gold mine of comedy material" on television news.

Last week, we talked with Madeleine Albright about her life, and her discovery in adulthood that she was Jewish. We asked our listeners: Have you ever discovered a secret about your family or identity? We received a lot of responses, including one from Loren Levinson. She was adopted when she was a baby and raised her whole life in a Jewish household. But when she tracked down her birth parents as an adult, she discovered that her paternal ancestry was Muslim and that her birth mother is a born-again Christian. 

Ethan Bronner is a correspondent for our partner The New York Times. He recently announced that he would transition from his role as the paper's Jerusalem Bureau Chief to become a national legal correspondent in New York. The Middle East has changed radically since Bronner accepted the Bureau Chief position in early 2008. Perhaps most visible are the results of the Arab Spring uprisings throughout the region. Bronner reflects on the immense changes in the Middle East since he started reporting there four years ago.

Charles W. Colson, Watergate mastermind turned Evangelical leader, died of a brain hemorrhage on Saturday at the age of 80. Colson, special counsel to the Nixon Administration, served seven months for obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal. But Colson emerged from prison a born-again Christian, promising to devote his life to religious activities. And though he may be remembered most for his role in Watergate, Tim Weiner, journalist and author of "Enemies: A History of the FBI," believes that Colson's true legacy might be his role in forging alliances between Evangelical Protestants and Catholics to create the religious wing of the Republican Party.

In the news, Sharia law is frequently depicted as a system that condones women being stoned. In the movies, it’s the reason why petty thieves find their hands on the chopping block. But what, exactly, is Sharia law all about? Sadakat Kadri, author of "Heaven on Earth," a history of Sharia law and its many interpretations, explains.

In Iraq, the Christian community continues to suffer from intimidation and threats of violence, and the number of Christians in the country has dropped drastically following the U.S. invasion nine years ago in 2003. Rami Ruhayem is a correspondent for our partner the BBC, who has found that even though the levels of violent attacks have dropped recently, there is still a climate of fear.

The Haggadah, the Jewish religious text read at Passover, is 3,000 years old. It has been translated more than any Jewish book, from ancient times, to 14th-century Sarajevo, to the just-published "New American Haggadah." Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander have constructed a new Haggadah, religious, yet modern, for the American Jews of their generation.

Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Cuba today after a three-day visit to Mexico. It’s his first time visiting both countries. During his visit to the island nation, the Pope says he hopes to build on the dialogue and cooperation ushered in by his predecessor, John Paul II — whose visit in 1998 was considered groundbreaking. How do locals feel about the current Pope’s visit? And what, exactly, is the Pope’s desired outcome of the visit? Sarah Rainsford, Havana correspondent for our partner the BBC, joins us from Cuba.

In 2012, religion is on the ballot like never before. Three of the four remaining GOP candidates often invoke their faith on the campaign trail, and say it’s their belief in God and Christianity that inspire their policy choices. Rick Santorum has gone even further, saying he’s guided by his Catholic faith — and his decision-making in the White House would be too. But what if you’re a Republican not of the Christian faith? Is this rhetoric on the campaign trail isolating?

Religion plays a fundamental role in daily life, and in political life, to believers and non-believers both. And while wars have been fought and era-defining antagonisms built for centuries between opposing religions, the relatively recent antagonism between believers and non-believers has reached something of a fever pitch. You can trace it to the Enlightenment, but the likes of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens have brought the argument to a head … or maybe to a standstill. Is any kind of progress possible in a debate between religious-believers and atheists? Or is there just a never-breakable impasse between the two worldviews?

On Sunday, during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week," Rick Santorum pushed his socially conservative message to new heights by denouncing the separation of church and state. Specifically, he stated that John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech supporting the split "made [him] want to throw up," and began the turn away from American values. However, some historians assert that the age-old debate over the role of religion in politics is actually quite recent, and only entered public discourse with the rise of the religious right in the late 80s and early 90s.

In a talk delivered in 2008, Rick Santorum asked the students of Ave Maria University, "If you were Satan who would you attack in this day and age?" The former Senator went on to answer his own question and said "Satan has his sights on the United States of America." Santorum's statements resurfaced this week on the blogosphere, leaving many pundits scratching their heads. 

Jessica Ahlquist, a 16-year-old-junior at Cranston High School West, is an outspoken atheist who believes that prayer should not be on display in public schools. Last month she expressed her views at school board hearings and a federal judge ruled in her favor deeming prayer's presence at Cranston High School to be unconstitutional. In retaliation, residents have threatened Ahlquist and others like State Representative Peter G. Palumbo have called her "an evil little thing." 

In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that churches and religious organizations are exempt from employee discrimination laws when hiring or firing their own employees and leaders. Many are heralding this decision as key in reinforcing the separation between church and state, while others worry that this will allow these organizations far too much power. The initial complaint that motivated Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stemmed from a teacher at an elementary school who felt she was being fired for pursuing a disability claim. 

After months of being written off as an un-electable candidate, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum nearly won Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses, losing to Mitt Romney by just eight votes. The Santorum surge, as it has come to be known, is credited largely to the Catholic candidate's strong support from evangelical Christians. CNN exit polling found that 34 percent self-identified evangelicals caucused for Santorum Tuesday, 19 percent supported Ron Paul, and that both Romney and Newt Gingrich took 14 percent of their votes.

This week on The Takeaway, we've been talking about the representations of different religions in the media: the controversy surrounding Lowe's pulling their ads from the TLC reality show "All-American Muslim," and America’s fixation with the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. While extremism isn't exclusive to any group, those who practice outside of the "mainstream" — be they Mormon or Muslim — are frequently labeled as such. Does it simply take a version of "The Cosby Show" to break down these stereotypes, or is there something more?

The Takeaway has been talking this week about the controversy that has erupted around the TLC reality show "All-American Muslim" after the home improvement store Lowe's pulled its ads from the broadcast. The move came after a group called the Florida Family Association launched a campaign against the show, urging companies to pull their ads. Reaction to the Florida Family Association and Lowe's has raised the profile of the cable show, as well as the community of Dearborn, Michigan where it is filmed.

With another stunning come from behind victory against the Bears last Sunday, the Tim Tebow train keeps rolling. The Denver Broncos’ quarterback has become a cultural phenomenon. But his on-field exploits only make up one part of the Tebow mystique. Tebow’s public displays of faith play a major role in the star athlete’s public persona and the narrative surrounding him.

On Monday, The Takeaway reported on the home improvement store Lowe's pulling its advertising from the TLC reality show "All-American Muslim" after a conservative Florida lobbying group launched a campaign against the show. Takeaway listeners have a lot to say about this incident and what it means for religion in America.