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Season 4 launches with the surprising intersection of religion, politics, and the morality of taxation. Sociologist Ruth Braunstein joins this episode to explain how Americans often view their tax dollars not just as financial obligations, but as extensions of their moral selves that implicate them in government actions, similar to religious giving. Drawing from research on groups ranging from the Tea Party to anti-war activists, the conversation explores how money is categorized as "sacred" or "profane" and what this means for living in a diverse society.   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Ruth Braunstein's book, My Tax Dollars: The Morality of Taxpaying in America: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691254999/my-tax-dollars?srsltid=AfmBOorNrWKXOd1mLDvnyN9-BOpXw9e1PAjK45ppEmVUMtAEVi5AAeJj • Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ • Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://boniuk.rice.edu/RPLC   • Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

In this episode of Religion Unmuted, host Todd Ferguson speaks with Stacy Auld, Vice President of Spiritual Care and Values Integration for Houston Methodist, a prominent healthcare system. Stacy offers a fascinating look at the multifaceted role of a hospital chaplain, exploring how her work has evolved from providing bedside care to leading system-wide initiatives. Listen to discover the spiritual side of healing and what brings chaplains hope in a demanding but sacred profession.   TOPICS COVERED (03:44) - The expanded definition of spiritual care (08:15) - Spiritual care research (12:33) - Chaplaincy in the secular age (17:36) - The future of the profession   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Check out our previous episode with sociologist and chaplaincy researcher Wendy Cadge, called "Seeing the Whole Person and the Whole Pain": https://religionunmuted.libsyn.com/site/seeing-the-whole-person-and-the-whole-pain • Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ • Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://rplc.rice.edu/   • Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts  

Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics, and Public Policy at the University of Bristol and recipient of the Boniuk Institute's 2025 Senior Scholar Award. Modood joined Religion Unmuted to discuss the evolving role of religion in modern, multicultural societies. He argues that demographic shifts have led minority groups to assert religious identities as key grounds for inclusion and respect, moving beyond earlier focuses on just racial or ethnic categories.   TOPICS COVERED (02:16) - The changing face of identity (06:26) - The US vs UK paradox (10:36) - The challenge of policy-making (14:57) - Theological vs. political pluralism (18:11) - A lesson in convicted pluralism   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Tariq Modood's book, The New Governance of Religious Diversity: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+New+Governance+of+Religious+Diversity-p-9781509559138 • Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ • Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://boniuk.rice.edu/RPLC • Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

In this episode we dive into key trends surrounding Generation Z with Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, including Gen Z's high rates of religious non-affiliation—with about 36% identifying with no religion. Deckman discusses how Gen Z women are driving progressive political engagement at higher rates than their male counterparts, propelled by issues like feminism, abortion, and LGBTQ rights. She also challenges the narrative of a "masculine religious revival," noting that her data shows young men's religious practice has remained static over the last decade.   TOPICS COVERED (01:38) - Gen Z definition and demographics (04:27) – Religious disaffiliation and impact on political views (07:11) – Gender differences regarding religion and politics (10:45) – Political engagement among women (15:03) – The Republican Party and MAGA (19:17) – Christianity as gendered (22:44) - Religious institutions responding to Gen Z (27:31) – The work of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) (30:19) – End: final words on religion, politics, and meaning among Gen Z   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Melissa Deckman's book, The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-politics-of-gen-z/9780231560085/ • Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ • Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://boniuk.rice.edu/RPLC • Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

For many Americans, a significant portion of waking hours are spent at work. In this episode, host Rachel Schneider is joined by three guests to discuss their book, Religion in a Changing Workplace, which explores how faith affects people while at work. They argue that workplaces should not suppress religion out of fear of conflict, but instead provide "nuanced" and even "active" accommodation to help employees flourish.   RESOURCES AND LINKS Learn more about the book Religion in a Changing Workplace: https://academic.oup.com/book/58194  Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://rplc.rice.edu/ Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts

In Who Pays for Diversity? Why Programs Fail at Racial Equity and What to Do about It, sociologist Oneya Fennell Okuwobi examines how well-meaning diversity efforts in universities, corporations, and churches often fail to achieve true racial equity—and can even harm people of color who sacrifice their well-being and advancement for the greater good. In this episode Okuwobi shares how her research on multiracial churches revealed the limits of "racial reconciliation" and "diversity" when these ideals are not paired with real structural change and support. She and host Rachel Schneider close with a discussion of how faith communities can move beyond symbolic gestures to create spaces rooted in justice, equity, and true flourishing.   RESOURCES AND LINKS Who Pays for Diversity? Why Programs Fail at Racial Equity and What to Do about It: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/who-pays-for-diversity/paper Visit the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance: https://boniuk.rice.edu/ Visit the Religion and Public Life Center: https://rplc.rice.edu/ Subscribe to Religion Unmuted: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts   Producer's note: At the time of this episode release, Rachel Schneider is Assistant Professor of Religion and Public Life at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. As of July 2025, the Religion and Public Life Center is directed by Todd Ferguson.

Digital technologies are profoundly shaping personal identity, community, and spiritual life. Our guest Felicia Song has written about these issues in her book, Restless Devices, and tells us how her research stems from both personal and academic inquiry into modern technology and digital media. She argues that faith communities must seriously engage with technology's role in spiritual formation and communal life, especially as technologies like AI and social media increasingly shape our habits and expectations.

In this episode of Religion Unmuted, John Barton and host Elaine Howard Ecklund discuss the urgency of interreligious peacebuilding and how religion can serve as both a barrier and a bridge in global conflicts. Blending theory, practice, and personal narrative, this episode explores how rooted, yet open, religious identities can contribute to peacebuilding in an increasingly divided world.

Consultant, professor, author, and former pastor Curtis Chang joins Religion Unmuted to discuss the dangers of partisan idolatry and why he believes Christians should prioritize faith over political identity. Chang also shares insights from his books, emphasizing the virtues of hope and humility and framing anxiety as a natural response to loss that can lead to spiritual growth.

In this episode of Religion Unmuted, Diane Winston discusses the intersection of religion, media, and politics, focusing on how the media shaped the religiously infused vision of the American Dream during the Reagan era and how similar dynamics play out with Donald Trump today. She explores the influence of Evangelical Christians in politics, especially their support for Trump despite his lack of religious commitment, and reflects on the changing portrayal of religious values in the media.

Marla Frederick, Dean of Harvard Divinity School, and countless others owe their education--and much more--to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Frederick shares how her experience at Spelman College shaped her views on faith, leadership, and her approach as dean of a multi-religious institution of higher education.

Bringing her journalistic eye to a sociological problem, Pamela Prickett gives listeners insight into a growing American issue: thousands of bodies are going unclaimed by relatives after death—up to 150,000 each year. Prickett unpacks the why behind the issue, as well as the ways that religion is being used to craft rituals and communities of care so that people do not go unremembered or unmourned.

The Religion Unmuted season 3 hosts, Elaine Howard Ecklund and Rachel Schneider, reveal the new, expanded vision for this season of the podcast. They also get a bit personal, sharing how their own identities and work have had an impact on Religion Unmuted and its vision.

In this episode, Religion Unmuted takes a historical look at Christianity and in particular how patriarchy was fundamental in the religion's founding. Our guest April DeConick also brings attention to the ways in which women did have specific roles in early Christianity and how that can be honored today.

The 2016 election shone a bright light on the entanglement of politics and faith for white evangelical Christians. Historian and author Kristin Kobes Du Mez talks the past, present, and future of evangelicalism in America as well as the role of women in this cultural and religious movement that is here to stay.