New Books Network
Secularism
Critical Theory January 26, 2021

Migrants in the Profane

Critical Theory and the Question of Secularization

Peter E. Gordon

Hosted by Ryan Tripp
A beautifully written exploration of religion's role in a secular, modern politics, by an accomplished scholar of critical theory, Migrants in the Profane: Critical Theory and the Question of Secularization (Yale University …

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Intellectual History December 29, 2020

On Being and Becoming

An Existentialist Approach to Life

Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei

Hosted by Elizabeth Cronin
While existentialism has long been associated with Parisian Left Bank philosophers sipping cocktails in smoke-filled cafés, or with a brooding, angst-filled outlook on life, Gosetti-Ferencei shows how vital and heterogeneous …
Intellectual History December 28, 2020

Ars Vitae

The Fate of Inwardness and the Return of the Ancient Arts of Living

Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn

Hosted by Lilian Calles Barger
Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn is a professor of history at Syracuse University. Her new book Ars Vitae: The Fate of Inwardness and the Return of the Ancient Art of Living (University of Notre …
Science, Technology, and Society December 2, 2020

Points of Contact

Science, Religion, and the Search for Truth

Glenn Sauer

Hosted by John Traphagan
As a scientist and practicing Catholic, Dr. Sauer brings a unique perspective to several of the important issues related to finding a space for dialogue between the at times opposing …
Islamic Studies November 27, 2020

Muslim Women's Rights

Contesting Liberal-Secular Sensibilities in Canada

Tabassum Fahim Ruby

Hosted by Shobhana Xavier
Muslim Women’s Rights: Contesting Liberal-Secular Sensibilities in Canada (Routledge 2019) By Tabassum Fahim Ruby follows the legal debates and public discussions that surrounded the proposed shari‘ah tribunals in Canada from …
Secularism November 25, 2020

Hope in a Secular Age

Deconstruction, Negative Theology and the Future of Faith

David Newheiser

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
In his new book, Hope in a Secular Age: Deconstruction, Negative Theology, and the Future of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2020), David Newheiser argues that hope is the indispensable precondition …
Islamic Studies October 30, 2020

Interrogating Secularism

Race and Religion in Arab Transnational Art and Literature

Danielle Haque

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In many popular accounts of contemporary “Western” society there is an inherent contradiction between the principles underlying liberal secularism and Islam. This type of binary discourse about “religion” and “secular” …
World Affairs October 27, 2020

Fertility and Faith

The Demographic Revolution and the Transformation of World Religions

Philip Jenkins

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
In his new book Fertility and Faith: The Demographic Revolution and the Transformation of World Religions (Baylor University Press, 2020), Philip Jenkins maps the demographic revolution that has taken hold …
Intellectual History September 10, 2020

From Darwin to Derrida

Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life

David Haig

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
In his book, From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life (MIT Press), evolutionary biologist David Haig explains how a physical world of matter in …
European Studies August 20, 2020

The Secular Enlightenment

Margaret Jacob

Hosted by Mark Molloy
The Secular Enlightenment (Princeton University Press, 2019) is a panoramic account of the radical ways that life began to change for ordinary people in the age of Locke, Voltaire, and …
Christian Studies August 19, 2020

Why I Left, Why I Stayed

Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son

T. Campolo and B. Campolo

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
Over a Thanksgiving dinner, fifty-year-old Bart Campolo announced to his famous Evangelical pastor father, Tony Campolo, that after a lifetime immersed in the Christian faith, he no longer believed in …
Anthropology July 22, 2020

Degrees of Separation

Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

Schneur Zalman Newfield

Hosted by Yakir Englander
Those who exit a religion—particularly one they were born and raised in—often find themselves at sea in their efforts to transition to life beyond their community. In Degrees of Separation …
European Studies June 22, 2020

Unbelievers

An Emotional History of Doubt

Alec Ryrie

Hosted by Yakir Englander
In Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt (Harvard University Press, 2019), Alec Ryrie, the award-winning author of Protestants offers a new vision of the birth of the secular age, looking …
History June 17, 2020

Race in a Godless World

Atheism, Race, and Civilization, 1850–1914

Nathan G. Alexander

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
Is modern racism a product of secularization and the decline of Christian universalism? The debate has raged for decades, but up to now, the actual racial views of historical atheists …
American Studies May 27, 2020

None of the Above

Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada

Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

Hosted by Lindsey Jackson
In recent decades, the number of Americans and Canadians who identify has nonreligious has risen considerably. With nearly one quarter of Canadian and American adults identifying as nonreligious, religious "nones" …
Critical Theory May 15, 2020

Hoping Against Hope

John D. Caputo

Hosted by Yakir Englander
John D. Caputo has a long career as one of the preeminent postmodern philosophers in America. The author of such books as Radical Hermeneutics, The Prayers and Tears of Jacques …
French Studies May 11, 2020

Prolegomena to Any Future Materialism

The Outcome of Contemporary French Philosophy

Adrian Johnston

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman
In the contemporary philosophical landscape, a variety of materialist ontologies have appeared, all wrestling with various political and philosophical questions in light of a post-God ontology. Entering into this discussion …
Anthropology May 5, 2020

Hidden Heretics

Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age

Ayala Fader

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
What would you do if you questioned your religious faith, but revealing that would cause you to lose your family and the only way of life you had ever known …
Law March 5, 2020

Pagans and Christians in the City

Culture Wars from the Tiber to the Potomac

Steven D. Smith

Hosted by Hope J. Leman
What does an American political progressive in the 21st century have in common with a pagan of ancient Rome? More than you may think, according to law professor, Steven D …
American Studies February 11, 2020

Our Non-Christian Nation

How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others Are Demanding Their Rightful Place in Public Life

Jay Wexler

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
Less and less Christian demographically, America is now home to an ever-larger number of people who say they identify with no religion at all. These non-Christians have increasingly been demanding …