Documentary will air June 30.
Matthew WeberMatthew M. Weber, a Cathedral High School graduate, will be among the individuals featured on “What’s So Funny About Religion,” a CBS interfaith documentary, on June 30.
A graduate of Providence (R.I.) College who has spoken locally, Weber is author of “Fearing the Stigmata: Humorously Holy Stories of a Young Catholic’s Search for a Culturally Relevant Faith,” and does two-minute humorous reflections on the life of a twentysomething on Catholic TV. He has said his segments are modeled after CBS legend Andy Rooney of “60 Minutes” fame. He holds a master's degree in technology, education and innovation from Harvard University, where he works full-time as new and social media officer. He works part time as a blogger for the Huffington Post,
The Rev. Jesuit Jim Martin, a Jesuit who has spoken in Springfield, will talk about how he uses his “comic sensibility to spread the gospel.” Martin is contributing editor at America magazine, and official chaplain of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central.
Other participants in the CBS special include comedian Lewis Black, a contributor on “The Daily Show” and author of “Me of Little Faith.” He discusses how some matters of faith figure into his work.
Mo Amer and Azhar Usman, who tour as “Allah Made Me Funny” with comedian Preacher Moss, talk about using humor to present life as a religious and ethnic minority in America. The Rev. Susan Sparks, a senior minister at Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York who has worked as a corporate lawyer, talks about how she has used stand-up comedy in both of her professions.
The documentary is produced in cooperation with The National Council of Churches, a consortium of Roman Catholic organizations, the Islamic Society of North America, the Union of Reform Judaism, and the New York Board of Rabbis.