PUBLIC HUMANITIES
Bible Odyssey
The Religion, Race & Democracy Lab
The Religion, Race & Democracy Lab (2018–2024) supported teaching, facilitated research, and produced stories in many forms on religion, race, and democracy. It was committed to the idea that learning more about how religion and race work with democratic societies can help us to live together in today’s pluralistic and increasingly global societies.
In addition to featuring the exciting work of it faculty and student partners (available on the website), the Lab continues to host it podcast, Sacred & Profane, which is available on the website and on iTunes.
Sacred & Profane
A podcast from the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab.
Season One (Fall 2019):
“A Common Thread,” edicts of Emperor Ashoka, August 1
“A New Life, Together,” forgiveness and Rwanda’s genocide, August 12
“What Would Krishna Do?,” fracking on a West Virginia commune, August 19
“Consider Hassan,” immigration and Muslim identity in Austria, August 26
“I Sent The Gods Back,” immigration and the Cyrus Cylinder, September 2
“Set Apart,” Yellowstone as a religious, secular, bureaucratic sanctuary, September 16
Season Two (Spring 2020):
“A Lotus Blossoms Above Muddy Waters,” Buddhism in WW2 internment camps, April 6
“To Move the Passions,” the last known castrato and “who has a soul?,” April 20
“La Santa,” the complex history of Santa Muerte and her fast-growing movement, May 4
“What’s So Great About Cyrus?,” Cyrus, the Shah of Iran, and President Trump, May 18.
“The Breath of Our Neighbor,” 8 minutes and 46 seconds on Larycia Hawkins’ embodied solidarity, June 8
“American Idols,” Christianity and Confederate monuments, July 20
“Render Under Q,” QAnon and the January 6 storming of the Capitol, January 28, 2021.
Season Three (Spring & Fall 2021):
“A Dictionary of All Religions,” the study of world religions in early America, May 25
“Black and Beautiful,” how biblical translations reveal our views of race and gender, June 1
“The Devil’s Advocates,” how American Satanists are challenging ideas of religion, pluralism, and the separation of church and state, June 8
“We Hold These Truths,” the challenges of regarding the Constitution as “sacred,” July 1
“On a Robot and Prayer,” how the use of robots in religious spaces challenges what it means to “be religious,” October 19.
“Sites of Memory,” how the memory of slavery in Charlottesville is reshaping its public spaces and giving rise to new rituals, October 27
Season Four (2024–2025):“Between Heaven and Earth” on religion, land, and climate change in the US—how religion has shaped the American landscape and how our land has shaped religions.
“What the Future Holds,” how religion can help us envision our future with Mariama White-Hammond, September 10, 2024.
“Food that Grows on Water,” wild rice (Manoomin) and the Anishinaabe with Joseph LaGarde and Michael McNally, May 14, 2024.
“Church, An Ashram, and A Pipeline,” reported by Molly Born, April 30, 2024.
“Ad Astra,” the night sky and our place in the universe with Kelsey Johnson, April 9, 2024.
“Planet B,” living on Mars with Kelsey Johnson and Mary-Jane Rubenstein, March 26, 2024.
“Church in the Wilderness,” Christian theology and American environmentalism with Evan Berry, March 12, 2024.
“Make the Desert Bloom,” Mormons transform the desert with Kathleen Flake, February 27, 2024.
“Alternative Energy,” New Age religion with Susannah Crockford, February 13, 2024.
“Holy Oil,” US Christianity and the oil industry with Darren Dochuk, January 30, 2024.
“The Letter of the Law,” Doctrine of Discovery and climate change, January 16, 2024.
God $ Green
The story of how potent forces came together to mount an army of climate change skeptics in the name of God, country, and capitalism. A video from the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab.