The Religious Studies Project

In our final Discourse! episode of the season, Andie Alexander, Craig Martin, and Paul-François Tremlett team up to discuss the concept of “harm” and religion as it pertains to recent legislation in Texas, the role of religion in politics in Scotland’s recent election for First Minister, and questions of AI, religion, and desire. It’s quite the conversation, so be sure to tune in! Related Articles “Bill to Force Texas Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments Fails” NYT “Texas lawmakers approve bill to allow school districts to replace counselors with chaplains” Washington Post “Unlicensed religious chaplains may counsel students in Texas’ public schools after lawmakers OK proposal” Texas Tribune “Trouble in Texas: Lone Star State legislators are trying to merge religion and public education — and other states are following suit” Americans United “Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation barring trans youth from accessing transition-related care” Texas Tribune “Can humans ever understand how animals think?” The Guardian “Seeing Spirituality in Chimpanzees” The Atlantic “AI will be everywhere, but its rise will be mundane not apocalyptic” The Guardian “‘They’re afraid their AIs will come for them’: Doug Rushkoff on why tech billionaires are in escape mode” The Guardian “Is No 10 waking up to dangers of artificial intelligence?” The Guardian “AI ‘godfather’ Geoffrey Hinton warns of dangers as he quits Google” BBC “Alabama Legislature votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth” NPR “Alabama urges court to revive strict ban on gender-affirming care for minors” Reuters “Alabama becomes the 22nd state to allow people to carry concealed guns without permit” CNN GlasgowGPT “It’s not bigoted to criticize Kate Forbes. Sometimes, in politics, religion is fair game“ “Kate Forbes says trans women are ‘biological males’ as SNP leadership candidate faces more questions“

In this episode, Charles McCrary joins Matt Sheedy to discuss the role of sincerity in shaping American conceptions of religion that he explores in his recent book Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers (University of Chicago Press, 2022). Tracing a cultural history of “sincerely held religious beliefs,” from 19th century court cases on fortune telling and the policing of morality in New York, to conscientious objectors in the 1940s and 1960s, McCrary helps us understand how the U.S. Supreme Court has determined who and what counts as ‘religious’ as American secularism developed over the last century. Questions of race, gender, and sex are also in the mix, as recent cases have shifted the burden of sincerity from the protection of ‘minority’ beliefs to the rights of people and corporations to deny people services if they feel it violates their religious freedom. Also, as noted by Charlie and Matt in the episode, this discussion is a great conversation partner for our recent episode with Finbarr Curtis, “Spitting on the Sacred: Politics and Redefining Profanation“—be sure to check it out if you missed it!

In this week’s episode Sam Gill joins RSP editor Andie Alexander to discuss his recent book The Proper Study of Religion: Building on Jonathan Z. Smith. They consider different methodological and theoretical questions in the academic study of religion, such as comparison, difference-making, play & movement, experience, and “storytracking”—a narrative technique and method for critical self-reflection and scholarly analysis. Gill outlines a playful and proper study of religion that builds on the work of the late J. Z. Smith and demonstrates how a critical scholar of religion might apply Smith’s methods in their own scholarship.

In this week’s episode, Raymond Radford is joined by Bradley Onishi to discuss his new book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next (2023). In 2021, as the Capitol building was being overrun in an attempt to stop a transfer of power, many of us were glued to our screens. Some such as Bradley Onishi were not only glued to their screen but counting the symbols and motifs he saw amongst the crowd. Onishi recognised the symbols as various religious organisations and thought back to his own past with Christian Nationalism, asking himself if he were still at his old church would he be storming the steps of the Capitol. Onishi’s new book chronicles the rise of the White Christian Nationalism movement in America, and its connections to the Evangelical movements as they navigate to institute a theocratic regime through creative use of politics and bargain-making. What they want to achieve and how they seek to achieve these powers are explored and discussed as Bradley and Raymond discuss history, motives, and the outcomes of these movements, and why hope is still an option to combat them.

In this interview, Dan Gorman talks with Leigh Eric Schmidt about his 2021 book The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: A Religious History of American Secularism. Despite its title, Schmidt’s book is not a religious biography of Thomas Paine, but rather a survey of the ways that atheists and agnostics have used Paine as a symbol or figure of devotion. Schmidt organizes his book into sections on secular relics (focusing on Paine’s exhumed, missing body), secular rituals (focusing on nineteenth-century Americans who sought new frameworks for life events), and secular institutions (focusing on attempts to organize various churches of humanity). An epilogue looks at secularism in the twentieth century. Several atheist and free thought congregations earned tax-exempt status as religious organizations, but religious conservatives from the Cold War onward stoked popular fears that secularists wanted to take over America. Throughout the book, Schmidt highlights a fundamental argument in the atheist/nontheist community: Does an absence of belief in God mean an absence of religion and all the things that go with it? As Schmidt’s history of Thomas Paine fans reveals, the answer is no; a religion can operate on functional lines without a belief in God. Other topics of conversation include the effects of COVID-19 on Schmidt’s research and writing process, the design and semiotics of the book’s hardcover edition, conservative critiques of Schmidt’s support for liberal religion and secularism in public life, and the book’s connection to Schmidt’s earlier Restless Souls (2nd ed. 2012).

Benjamin P. Marcus is your host for this month’s episode of Discourse!, the RSP’s monthly, critical take on the category of religion in the news. Ben and his guests, Paulina Gruffman and Charles McCrary, start by looking at a recent Pew survey on religious literacy. What sorts of things do Pew count as knowledge about religion, and what religion(s) do they include? And what does this say about what we as scholars think we are doing when we talk to the public about religion? This leads into a conversation about the coverage of the so-called Asbury Revival. Do we authorise certain voices in the language we use, and whose terms we use? What happens if we describe them differently? Articles Discussed “A nonstop worship gathering at a Kentucky school echoes an old Christian tradition“ “‘Incredible’ stories of healing, reconciliation emerge from Christian revival at Kentucky college“ Mike Pence’s Twitter thread on Asbury University Revival Enstedt, Daniel. “Religious Literacy in NonConfessional Religious Education and Religious Studies in Sweden“ “Asbury Outpouring (aka Asbury Revival) | Documentary Film” (YouTube) “How much do Americans know about the faiths around them?”

Theodical arguments are perhaps some of the most difficult to bring to a firm conclusion, particularly when placed in certain historical contexts. The Holocaust is one such instance, particularly for Judaism. Where was God during this event and how does that impact religion and its practice going forward? In this episode, long-time friend and former co-editor of the RSP Dr. Breann Fallon sat down with Assistant Professor Barbara Krawcowicz to discuss the multiple perspectives on this question in Krawcowicz’s new monograph History, Metahistory and Evil: Jewish Theological Responses to the Holocaust (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2021). Fallon and Krawcowicz delve into the different streams of Judaism and the differing theological responses to the Holocaust between them. Interestingly the discussion considers differing views both during the War and post-War, looking at the immediate and long terms responses to this historical event. While no firm answers are garnered, the melding of humanity, religion and lived experience combine to raise interesting questions about the place of both history and meta-history in the religious studies context.

What unites the death of an emeritus pope, a Brazilian insurrection and the debate about the relationship between science and religion? Oversimplified boundaries! Join us as Lauren Horn Griffin describes reactions to Pope Benedict’s death on “Catholic Twitter,” — how traditionalists (#Trad or #RadTrad on social media) typically hate Pope Francis (as he symbolizes “wokeness” and “modernism”) while Benedict was seen as a symbol of traditional piety and social teaching. Kristi Boone tells us about the parallels between the Brazil insurrection and the invasion of the Capitol Building in Washington DC on Jan 6th, 2021. And your host, co-founder Chris Cotter, unpacks the data from a survey that suggests that different demographics have different ideas about the so-called problem of the relationship between science and religion. Articles Referenced “The Old Pope Is Dead. “Gorgeous Georg” Is About to Come Out Swinging.“ “Science and religion: does gender matter?“ “The shared religious roots of twin insurrections in the U.S. and Brazil“

Sidney Castillo is your host for the bumper final Discourse! episode of 2022! Join Sidney, Sharday Mosurinjohn, and Jordan Loewen-Colón to discuss some recent stories about religion and different altered realities. Sidney describes the use of ayahuasca among Peruvian indigenous peoples, and how this relates to animism–and COP27. Sharday Mosurinjohn talks about the founding of a new entheogenic church, and the prominence of religious language within the broader “psychedelic renaissance”. And finally, Jordan Loewen-Colón tells us about the use of VR to induce altered states of consciousness, which has earned the name “technodelics”. Articles Referenced “Los guardianes de la Amazonia buscan recursos: indígenas lanzan una propuesta financiera en la COP27“ “COP27 must create a climate agreement that protects 80% of the Amazon by 2025, Indigenous leaders, researchers and environmental organizations urge“ “The Rebirth: A Veterans Day Celebration Exploring Psychedelic Medicine“ “Psychedelic Conversations | Greg Lake – World’s First Psilomethoxin Church #59” (YouTube) Benjamin Moore’s LinkedIn Post “Forget LSD, virtual reality is just as trippy“ “Facebook’s Next Target: The Religious Experience“ “Group VR experiences can produce ego attenuation and connectedness comparable to psychedelics“

This month’s Discourse! centres on questions of the secular and the religious in the contemporary public square. What does it mean to be a secular space? How do institutions “deal with” religious ideas and identities in such a space? We talk about religious bias in universities, how religious spokespeople affect politics, and how religious freedom sometimes trumps other forms of freedom. Tune in with host Jacob Barrett and guests Richard Irvine and Jacob Noblett to learn more! Articles Referenced “Investigation underway into antisemitism at U of Vermont““The media was all over BYU’s racism scandal. So why did no one care about Oregon’s cruel chant?““Supreme Court Says Yeshiva University Must Allow L.G.B.T. Group as Case Proceeds“

The Research Excellence Framework (or REF) is a major aspect of the institutional environment of academia in the UK—a time-consuming process of ranking departmental research that decides how funding is distributed. While controversial, the process tells us a good deal about the health of different subjects, including religious studies. In today’s episode, the chair of the Theology and Religious Studies panel, Gordon Lynch, joins David Robertson to outline the process for those lucky enough not to have experienced it for themselves, and to tell us what it says about the situation for the discipline, and the social sciences and Arts and Humanities more broadly. See the REF 2021 Report here (PDF).

For our first episode of Season 12, Falguni A. Sheth joins RSP editor Andie Alexander to discuss her new book Unruly Women: Race, Neocolonialism, and the Hijab. In this episode, Sheth explores issues of liberalism, racial discrimination, and religious freedom with regard to Muslim women of color and Black Muslim women in the US through a variety of legal case studies. Sheth demonstrates that the exclusion of Muslim women of color and Black Muslim women works to regulate and manage liberal subjects.

Whose beliefs get to count and in what contexts? Join Carmen Becker, Susannah Crockford, and Savannah Finver in this month’s episode of Discourse! for their discussion about the leaked US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson which may overturn Roe v. Wade, the UK’s response to particular kinds of “disruptive” climate protests, and international coverage of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Which beliefs are rendered sayable or unsayable? What kinds of comparisons between views are we allowed to make? Tune in to find out! Watch the video episode here: