Posts Tagged ‘Bill Maher’
Quin Monson on Norms, Religion, and Politics
How are different religious traditions viewed at the ballot box? Prof. Quin Monson, a political scientist at BYU, discusses a recent study he and several colleagues conducted on religious biases and sanctioning of norm violations during the 2012 presidential election. Our conversation covers how norms are used in society, when violations of norms are punished by individuals, what religious groups are considered “outside the norm” and by whom, and whether and how attitudes towards different groups may change over time.
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Rodney Stark on How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists
Frequent guest and popular academic author Rodney Stark joins us to discuss his new book “America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists.” We discuss whether or not spiritual life in the United States is actually on the decline, and then review how the activities of religious Americans have positive spillover effects for society as a whole in a wide range of areas including health, voluntarism, pro-social behavior, the economy, and intellectual life. We even talk about “s-e-x.” This is a wonderful “starter” podcast for new listeners as it covers a number of different themes we have addressed over the past three years.
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Hunter Baker on Secularism
What role should religion be allowed to play in the public square? Prof. Hunter Baker (Union University) discusses how the concept of “secularism” has crept into our nation’s conscience and is believed to be a philosophy of “neutrality.” Prof. Baker argues that this isn’t the case as secularism is an ideological alternative to religious belief that is privileged over religious expression in the public square. Our wide-ranging conversation takes us through discussions of Judge Roy Moore, religiously-based progressive taxation, religion in Sweden, and the philosophy of John Stuart Mill and John Rawls.
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