New Books Network Podcast

Library Science October 12, 2023

Serapis

The Sacred Library and Its Declericalization

Stephen Bales and Wendi Arant Kaspar

Hosted by Jen Hoyer

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The Greco-Egyptian syncretistic god Serapis was used by the 3rd century BCE Ptolemaic pharaohs to impose Greek cultural hegemony and consolidate political power. The Alexandrian Serapeum, sometimes referred to as …

Religion October 2, 2023

Life without God

An Outsider's Look at Atheism

Rik Peels

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer

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In Life without God: An Outsider's Look at Atheism (Cambridge UP, 2023), Rik Peels explores atheism from a new perspective that aims to go beyond the highly polarized debate about …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones September 11, 2023

The Future of Secularization

A Discussion with Ryan Cragun

Ryan Cragun

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

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The statement ‘we live in a secular age’ is open to the obvious challenge that in some parts of the word, religion is a growing force in society. And even …

Indian Religions August 17, 2023

Religious and Non-Religious Perspectives on Happiness and Wellbeing

Sharada Sugirtharajah

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

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Sharada Sugirtharajah's edited volume Religious and Non-Religious Perspectives on Happiness and Wellbeing (Routledge, 2022) explores the theme of happiness and well-being from religious, spiritual, philosophical, psychological, humanistic, and health perspectives …

Indian Religions August 10, 2023

Science and Religion in India

Beyond Disenchantment

Renny Thomas

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

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Science and Religion in India: Beyond Disenchantment (Routledge, 2022) provides an in-depth ethnographic study of science and religion in the context of South Asia, giving voice to Indian scientists and …

Critical Theory June 28, 2023

Sufi Deleuze

Secretions of Islamic Atheism

Michael Muhammad Knight

Hosted by Adam Bobeck

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“There is always an atheism to be extracted from a religion,” Deleuze and Guattari write in their final collaboration, What Is Philosophy? Their claim that Christianity “secretes” atheism “more than …

Secularism June 25, 2023

Accidental Gods

On Race, Empire, and Men Unwittingly Turned Divine

Anna Della Subin

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

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Ever since 1492, when Christopher Columbus made landfall in the New World and was hailed as a heavenly being, the accidental god has haunted the modern age. From Haile Selassie …

Indian Religions June 22, 2023

Slandering the Sacred

Blasphemy Law and Religious Affect in Colonial India

J. Barton Scott

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

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Why is religion today so often associated with giving and taking offense? To answer this question, Slandering the Sacred: Blasphemy Law and Religious Affect in Colonial India (U Chicago Press …

Russian and Eurasian Studies June 13, 2023

Socialist Cultures and Politics of Secularism and Atheism

A Discussion with Todd Weir and Victoria Smolkin

Todd Weir and Victoria Smolkin

Hosted by Stephen Bittner

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Two new books on secularism and atheism in German and Soviet socialist cultures are reshaping scholarly understandings of the relationship between socialism and religion. Todd Weir and Victoria Smolkin show …

Secularism May 26, 2023

Empire and Progress in the Victorian Secularist Movement

Imagining a Secular World

Patrick J. Corbeil

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

Empire and Progress in the Victorian Secularist Movement: Imagining a Secular World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) by Dr. Patrick Corbeil is the first extensive historical analysis of the relationship between empire …

Religion May 14, 2023

The Politics of Religious Literacy

Education and Emotion in a Secular Age

Justine Ellis

Hosted by Zalman Newfield

Religious Literacy has become a popular concept for navigating religious diversity in public life. In The Politics of Religious Literacy: Education and Emotion in a Secular Age (Brill, 2022), Justine …

Secularism April 27, 2023

Varieties of Atheism in Science

Elaine Howard Ecklund and David R. Johnson

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

Not all atheists are New Atheists, but thanks in large part to the prominence and influence of New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast April 15, 2023

Parfit

A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality

David Edmonds

Hosted by Mark Klobas

Derek Parfit (1942-2017) is the most famous philosopher most people have never heard of. Widely regarded as one of the greatest moral thinkers of the past hundred years, Parfit was …

Secularism February 26, 2023

Nonverts

The Making of Ex-Christian America

Stephen Bullivant

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

The United States is in the midst of a religious revolution. Or, perhaps it is better to say a non-religious revolution. Around a quarter of US adults now say they …

Secularism January 31, 2023

The Varieties of Atheism

Connecting Religion and Its Critics

David Newheiser

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

The Varieties of Atheism: Connecting Religion and Its Critics (University of Chicago Press, 2022), edited by Professor David Newheiser reveals the diverse nonreligious experiences obscured by the combative intellectualism of …

Ministry of Ideas January 9, 2023

Secular Salvations

Can Atheists be 'Saved?'

Craig Calhoun, Sean Kelly, and Angie Thurston

Hosted by Zachary Davis

The decline of organized religion in the West has opened up new paths for individuals to pursue what once was once understood to be salvation. Guests: Craig Calhoun, President of …

Anthropology January 3, 2023

Theology and the Anthropology of Christian Life

Joel Robbins

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer

Anthropological theory can radically transform our understanding of human experience and offer theologians an introduction to the interdisciplinary nature between anthropology and Christianity. Both sociocultural anthropology and theology have made …

Science, Technology, and Society January 2, 2023

Wild Experiment

Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin

Donovan O. Schaefer

Hosted by Alison Renna

In Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin (Duke UP, 2022), Donovan O. Schaefer challenges the conventional wisdom that feeling and thinking are separate. Drawing on science studies, philosophy …

On Religion December 13, 2022

The Varieties of Atheism

Connecting Religion and Its Critics

David Newheiser

Hosted by Gregory Soden

David Newheiser is a senior research fellow in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University. He is the author of Hope in a Secular Age: Deconstruction …

Secularism December 3, 2022

Atheism in Five Minutes

Teemu Taira

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans

Atheism in Five Minutes, by Professor Teemu Taira, is part of Equinox Publishing’s “Religion in 5 Minutes” series. It offers insights into a number of commonly held questions about the …