The Holy War Delusion: Is it Time to Retire Our Religions?

About this episode

Douglas Rushkoff explores the crisis of modern faith and the implications of weaponized religious identities in the context of nationalism and holy war narratives.

In this urgent monologue, Rushkoff explores the heartbreaking crisis of modern faith. As religious identities are weaponized by nationalism, literalism, and holy war narratives, from Christian Zionism to the defense of the nation-state, we find ourselves trapped in a linear, Axial Age story that may no longer serve a digital, all-at-once humanity. In this episode, Rushkoff discusses: - The Brand of Religion: How the conduct of states like Israel and the rise of Christian Nationalism are making traditional faith feel untenable for the people who hold it.- - The Literalism Trap: Why treating a transcendental narrative as a "real estate deed" kills the spiritual project. - Media Theory of God: How the shift from the Age of the Book to a new media environment requires us to graduate from religion rather than be destroyed by it. - The Two Anti-Semitisms: Navigating the crossfire between the Right’s hatred of "globalists" and the Left’s critique of colonialism. Is it time to retire these ancient institutional containers before they lead us to a self-fulfilling Armageddon? Or can we retrieve the living, human layers of our faiths and bring them forward into a new, restorative context…

People in this episode

Host: Douglas Rushkoff

Topics covered

• religion
• nationalism
• Christian Zionism
• spirituality
• media theory

Keywords

• faith
• literalism
• media environment
• anti-Semitism
• Armageddon

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Holy War Delusion: Is it Time, The Brand of Religion: How

Places: Israel

More episodes of Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff

• Escaping the Simulation: A Somatic Guide to Reality · May 6, 2026 · 25 min
• The Magic of the Broken: David J (Bauhaus / Love and Rockets) · April 29, 2026 · 1h 24m
• AI Angels, Demons, and the Fight for the Future (w/ Philip Rosedale) · April 22, 2026 · 1h 12m
• "What If" Is the Enemy of Fascism (w/Brian Eno) · April 15, 2026 · 1h 20m
• Exposing the Billionaire Funding Behind AI Safety Movements (w/ Kat Tenbarge) · April 8, 2026 · 52 min
• The Internet Felt Like This in 1994. AI Might Be Our Last Chance. · April 2, 2026 · 22 min