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Kansas: Where church and state are anything but separate

Republican lawmakers in Kansas have been religion to justify anti-LGBTQ bills, anti-abortion laws and funding for private education vouchers in the state. The Kansas Reflector took a deep dive into the influence of religious beliefs on state politics.

With supermajority control of both the Senate and House, Republican lawmakers in Kansas have routinely entertained policy ideas shaped by fringe religious views — restrictions placed on transgender residents, anti-abortion propaganda, tax dollars for private schools and a refusal to acknowledge systemic racism.

Reporters at The Kansas Reflector have been taking a close look at how religion can be seen in every corner of the statehouse, and how it's been exploited to justify attacks on marginalized people and inspire fear in voters.

KCUR's Steve Kraske was joined by Kansas Reflector reporter Rachel Mipro to talk more about the relationship between church and state in Kansas.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Paris Norvell is a freelance podcast producer for KCUR Studios,
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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