The Religious Studies Podcast - podcast cover

The Religious Studies Podcast

Where did the sacred go? This podcast is focused on the philosophical study of religion and will center on books, both historical and contemporary. Each book will get a 15 minute Book Brief episode and then a Deep Dive episode. The Book Briefs are high-level overviews of the main arguments of the book and why the book is relevant to us today. The Deep Dive episodes will not have the time constraint and will be where I spend time discussing various arguments and themes from the book, as well as offering critiques if I have them. Twitter: https://twitter.com/therspod Substack: https://thereligiousstudiespodcast.substack.com/ Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com
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Episodes

Paul Ricoeur on Freud's Psychology of Religion

In this episode we discuss a few sections in Ricoeur's collection of essays titled "The Conflict of Interpretation". We discuss why Ricoeur sees Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud as masters of suspicion and how that should help us think about religion, ourselves, and our modern world. Intro (00:00:45) From Descartes to Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud (00:04:45) The Function of Religion in Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud (00:19:19) We are All Armchair Psychologists (00:38:05)...

Dec 29, 20240Season 1Ep. 23

Max Stirner's The Unique and Its Own, Deep Dive Part 2

We begin this episode going over Stirner’s critique of philosophers and the Enlightenment. It’s important to keep in mind that whatever problem he has with religion, he also has that problem with people too focused on thinking or capital T truth. As he says, a shout or a jump is as good at relieving anxiety as studying any book. We also look at the overlap in thought between Stirner and Foucault, Gabriel Marcel, Freud, and Girard. For example, both Stirner and Marcel think you should not ask wha...

Oct 07, 20240Season 1Ep. 22

Max Stirner's The Unique and its Own, Deep Dive Part 1

Topics Discussed: The relationship between particulars and universals Demon posession and god possession The religious discontent with the present The Sacred and when ideas overtake us When our future self overtakes us Sections: Intro (00:00:34) Basic Overview of Stirner's Arguments (00:05:55) Stirner's Critique of Religion (00:38:20) Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/...

Sep 21, 20240Season 1Ep. 21

Gabriel Marcel's The Mystery of Being, Deep Dive

Topics Discussed: Gabriel Marcel Martin Heidegger Phenomenology Psychology Sections: Intro: 00:00:55 1 Marcel's Philosophical Framework: 00:06:45 2 Realworld Examples from Marcel: 00:47:25

Aug 21, 20240Season 1Ep. 20

Rene Girard's I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, Deep Dive

Topics Discussed: Jesus Satan Philosophy Peter Thiel Curtis Yarvin Psychology Desire Sections: (00:01:20) Intro I. (00:06:05) Overview of Girard's theory and his interpretation of two bible myths II. (00:46:32) Satan as the representation of the mimetic cycle of desire III. (01:10:33) Demonology and Psychology, plus our modern fixation on victims Episode References: Technology, Communisim, and the Brown Scare - Mencius Moldbug Tyler Cowen Interview of Peter Thiel Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudie...

Apr 24, 20240Season 1Ep. 19

Rene Girard's The Scapegoat, Deep Dive

Topics Discussed: The Bible John the Baptist Rene Girard Freud Psychology Sections: Intro (00:01:05) Girard's General Theory and the story of Caiaphas (00:05:20) The Beheading of John the Baptist (00:34:05) Peter's Denial (01:02:03) Demons of Gerasa (01:18:09) The Supernatural Inspiration of the Bible (01:48:45) Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_18...

Mar 08, 20240Season 1Ep. 18

Freud's Moses and Monotheism, Deep Dive

Topics Discussed: God Psychoanalysis Moses Judaism Religion Freud Atheism Darwin Sections: Intro (00:00:55) I. Moses the Egyptian (00:05:24) II. Psychoanalyzing Human History (00:24:56) III. Why Freud Wrote about Moses (00:57:53) Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Feb 11, 20240Season 1Ep. 17

Freud's Moses and Monotheism, Book Brief

Topics Discussed: Psychoanalysis Freud Girard Moses Judaism Sections: Intro: 00:00:53 Freud's Method: 00:03:34 Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494

Jan 26, 20240Season 1Ep. 16

Rene Girard, Barbie, and Identity

Topics Discussed: Barbie movie Identity Girard Feminism Sections: intro (00:00:20) Girard and Identity (00:16:15) Jokes reveal the truth (00:31:30) The Daughter (00:46:50) Motherhood (00:54:20) Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Nov 29, 20230Season 1Ep. 15

Friedrich Nietzsche's The AntiChrist Deep Dive

Topics Discussed: Nietzsche Jesus Atheism Christianity Sections: Intro (00:04:33) Nietzsche's Philosophy and Christianity (00:10:37) Jesus (00:37:15) Power and Christianity (00:44:16) The Antichrist (01:00:15) Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Nov 25, 20230Season 1Ep. 14

Friedrich Nietzsche's The Antichrist

Topics Discussed: Sections: Nietzsche Jesus Christianity Morality Nihilism Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494

Nov 16, 20230Season 1Ep. 13

Rene Girard's Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, Deep Dive Part 3

Topics Discussed: Sexual identity Jesus Desire Holocausts Sections: General Remarks (00:00:54) The State of Desire Today (00:07:40) Society Today and in the Future (00:46:30) Transcript/Outline Link Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Nov 09, 20230Season 1Ep. 12

Rene Girard's Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, Deep Dive Part 2

Topics Discussed: Jesus Identity Moral Judgment Sections: General Remarks (00:00:54) Girard's General Reading of the Bible (00:07:30) Girard's Reading of Particular Bible Stories (00:18:40) What Jesus Said and Did (00:50:05) Outline Link Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Apr 09, 20230Season 1Ep. 11

Rene Girard's Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, Deep Dive Part 1

Topics Discussed: Religion Violence Jesus The Matrix Eyes Wide Shut The Great Gatsby Sections: General Remarks, explaining the title of the book, and Jesus talking in parables (00:01:25) In-depth discussion of Girard’s core argument (00:19:30) Watching movies with Girard (00:49:00) Outline Link Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Mar 22, 20230Season 1Ep. 10

Rene Girard's Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, Book Brief

Topics Discussed: mimesis, anthropology, Christianity, Religion, scapegoat, the movie I am Legend Sections: General Remarks (00:00:51) Girard’s Fundamental Theory (00:03:10) The Priority of Religion for Girard (00:13:10) Transcript Link Episode References: Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Mar 15, 20230Season 1Ep. 9

Whitney Cross' The Burned-Over District, Deep Dive

Sections: --- General Remarks (00:00:51) --- The Context of the Burned-Over District (00:08:57) --- New Measures (00:27:17) --- Apocalypticism and Heaven on Earth (00:56:05) Outline Link Topics Discussed: Second Great Awakening Christianity Joseph Smith Charles Finney WIlliam Miller American History Slavoj Zizek Hypnosis Alter Call Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast ( @therspod ) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/d...

Feb 27, 20230Season 1Ep. 8

Whitney Cross' The Burned-Over District Book Brief

Sections: Secular or Sacred Causes of the Burned-Over District (00:07:02) Orthodoxy and the many Sects of the Burned-Over District (00:10:20) Topics Discussed: Second Greak Awakening Christianity American History Transcript Link Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Feb 21, 20230Season 1Ep. 7

George Kovacs' The Question of God in Heidegger's Phenomenology, Deep Dive

Sections: Intro (00:00:22) Cause-god (00:14:40) Godless age and Technology (00:28:06) New Possibility (00:37:56) Topics Discussed: Philosophy God Christianity Heidegger Technology Plato atheism Outline Link Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast ( @therspod ) Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Jan 30, 20230Season 1Ep. 6

George Kovacs' The Question of God in Heidegger's Phenomenology Book Brief

Sections: Heidegger, Western Metaphysics and his phenomenology (00:02:54) Beyond A/theism (00:09:15) The Notion of God (00:11:10) Topics Discussed: God Heidegger Phenomenology Philosophy Metaphysics Transcript Link Episode References: Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Jan 11, 20230Season 1Ep. 5

Charles Taylor's A Secular Age, Deep Dive Part 2

Sections: Intro (00:00:54) Morality and The Modern Therapeutic Authority (00:01:35) Meaning and Our Conception of Time (00:23:45) Religion Today and a Path Forward (01:02:10) Topics Discussed: confused relationship to morality lack of ideals or heros today time is now flat, our past can no longer ground us modern malaise grand narratives progress is a story we've told ourselves plug and play religion Text Outline Twitter Page: TheReligiousStudiesPodcast (@therspod) / Twitter Email: thereligiouss...

Jan 01, 20230Season 1Ep. 4

Charles Taylor's A Secular Age, Deep Dive Part 1

Sections: Intro (00:00:38) The Context of Secularity (00:17:40) Deserts vs the Ordered Society (00:23:36) Utopia and the New Social Code (00:35:15) Monks and Microsoft Excel (01:02:25) Individualism (01:15:46) Closing (01:30:35) Topics Discussed: wilderness vs society heirarchy heaven on earth belief in god John the Baptist Augustine Deism expressive individualism freedom as the ultimate value of the West Outline Twitter Page Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed...

Jan 01, 20230Season 1Ep. 3

Charles Taylor's A Secular Age Book Brief

Sections Introduction (00:00:45) How we Ended Up in This Secular Age (00:02:25) The Anthropomorphic Shift (00:06:05) Topics Discussed: ordered cosmos ghosts enchanted world spontaneous and wrathful gods Transcript Episode References: A Secular Age Twitter Page Email: thereligiousstudiespodcast@gmail.com Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Jan 01, 20230Season 1Ep. 2

The Religious Studies Podcast Intro Episode

Sections: Explanation of Michael Clayton Clip and Introduction (00:01:35) The Data and Contemporary Atheism (00:09:15) An Awareness of What is Missing (00:12:55) Transcript Michael Clayton Movie An Awareness of What is Missing Music by The IMG, accessed 12/22 at https://archive.org/details/Kaleidoscope_1819-19494...

Dec 31, 20220Season 1Ep. 1
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