Do We Still Need Ritual? with Jeremy Steele

Do We Still Need Ritual? with Jeremy Steele

From Snarky Faith by Stuart Delony

May 27, 2026 · 58 min · Episode 383

About this episode

Stuart Delony and Jeremy Steele discuss the significance of ritual for those who have left religion but still seek meaning and connection.

What happens after you leave religion but still feel the pull toward ritual, meaning, and connection? In this conversation, Stuart sits down with Jeremy Steele to talk about his new book, Rituals for Heretics and People Who Aren’t Sure About God (https://amzn.to/4mzdL7R). Rather than treating ritual as something owned by churches, Jeremy argues that ritual is deeply human. Whether it is lighting a candle, writing something down and burning it, planting a seed, taking communion, or simply pausing long enough to acknowledge a moment, ritual gives shape to grief, change, healing, fear, and hope. The conversation digs into what many people lose when they walk away from religion. Not just certainty or doctrine, but the practices that once helped mark major moments in life. Stuart and Jeremy talk about how deconstruction often removes harmful beliefs but can also leave people without a framework for processing pain, transitions, identity, forgiveness, or loss. They also get into the deeper tension underneath the book: if you strip God out of ritual, what is left? Is this just therapy with candles and symbolism, or is there still something sacred hiding underneath it all? Jeremy…

People in this episode

Host: Stuart Delony

Guest: Jeremy Steele

Topics covered

  • ritual
  • religion
  • deconstruction
  • grief
  • identity
  • healing

Keywords

  • ritual
  • religion
  • grief
  • healing
  • identity
  • deconstruction
  • meaning

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rituals for Heretics and People Who Aren’t Sure About God

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