Sacred Thoughts Podcast

Christian Nationalism is exploding today. Not just because of adherents to it, like Doug Wilson and Pete Hegseth. But it’s also on our radar because of the swaths of people who are standing against its heinous vision for America – to make the US a primarily white, Christian nation.
But something got me thinking over the past weeks about whether there might be a progressive Christian Nationalist vision as well. Could such a concept be found upon the lips of rising Democrat star James Talarico, as laid out in this interview-gone-viral with Stephen Colbert?
Watch the Talarico video below, if you haven’t already, and then have a listen to my reflections in the next installment of the Sacred Thoughts Podcast.


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In my series on World Religions, it is now time to move on to one of the oldest religions in our world – Hinduism. Outside of concepts like polytheism, reincarnation, and the caste system, we in the west probably know the least about what Hindus call Sanātana Dharma. It’s also one of the more difficult religions to get our heads around. I hope this episode brings understanding and respect of such a vast expression of religion.


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In this second episode, I continue to offer some introductory thoughts about religion and the study of religion itself. I take a look at some specific terms that will become pertinent in understanding the world’s religions.
In the episode I quote Stephen Prothero's book God Is Not One. Here is a brief intro video to that book:


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It has been 10 months since my last podcast episode! As they say, life happened. But I'm glad to be back kicking off a particular series on world religions.
This semester I'm teaching a few sections of an undergraduate World Religions class and, thus, I've been thinking more and more about how important it is for us to understand other religions and their adherents.
As 19th century religion scholar Max Muller said, “He who knows one [religion], knows none."
How have we come to “know” about Buddhism or Islam? Is it via mainstream media and Hollywood films? Or is it a proper inquiry and understanding of another society, culture, and people?
To begin, I'm going to offer a couple of introductory episodes around the idea of religion and the study of religion itself. I hope you check it out!


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It has been two and a half months since my last official episode, but here we are. Today I was able to host C. Christopher Smith of the Englewood Review of Books. In particular, we talked through his most recent published work, The Virtue of Dialogue, and particularly the in’s and out’s of the formative practice of conversation.
Have a listen and check out his work at the Englewood Review of Books.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredthoughts.substack.com/subscribe