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In this episode of Religion Unmuted, host Elaine Howard Ecklund sits down with sociologist Orit Avishai to discuss her latest research on political polarization and the evolution of church-state controversies. Avishai explains how the historical legal framework established to protect religious minorities has shifted into a more aggressive, power-leveraging narrative surrounding Christian nationalism and state legislation. Through the lens of ethnography and legal analysis, the conversation explores the human stakes of these shifting doctrines and examines the growing obstacles to true religious pluralism in America.   TOPICS COVERED (02:12) - Exploring Religious Freedom and Pluralism (06:40) - The Role of Religion in Public Life (10:11) - The New Culture Wars (15:15) - Religious Freedom and Minority Perspectives (19:53) - Ethnography and Legal Analysis in Religious Freedom (23:57) - Challenges to Religious Pluralism in America (29:41) - The Intersection of Law and Sociology in Research (35:46) - Personal Reflections on Faith and Research   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Orit Avishai and her scholarship: https://www.fordham.edu/academics/departments/sociology-and-anthropology/faculty/orit-avishai/ • 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

This episode of Religion Unmuted originally aired on June 25, 2021.  --- When women do not feel called to lead within their faith community, what is lost? The Rev. Christine Lee joins us to share her take on women in leadership positions, drawing from her perspective as the first woman Priest-in-Charge at an Episcopal church in New York City. In this episode we address the unique struggles and contributions of women in religious leadership positions, as well as why there aren't more of them.   RESOURCES AND LINKS • 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

This episode of Religion Unmuted originally aired on April 30, 2021.  --- In 2017 the immigration policies known as "zero tolerance" and "family separation" were established, affecting thousands of men, women, and children trying to enter the United States. Hear the stories of three women—Lupe, Julia, and Gena—and how they were impacted by these policies—as a woman, as a daughter, and as a Christian. Author Gena Thomas joins this episode of Religion Unmuted to talk about immigration, family, and faith.   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Gena Thomas' book, Separated by the Border: A Birth Mother, a Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child's 3,000-Mile Journey: https://www.genathomas.com/separated-by-the-border.html • 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, host Todd Ferguson sits down with legal scholar John Inazu to discuss navigating deep disagreements within a pluralistic society. Drawing from his latest book, Learning to Disagree, Inazu explores how the First Amendment right of assembly informs our understanding of belonging and differences. The conversation highlights the importance of "playing the long game" by building trust through lived experiences and interpersonal relationships rather than seeking instant resolutions. Ultimately, Inazu offers a hopeful perspective on discovering common ground while still honoring the depth of our religious and moral convictions.   TOPICS COVERED (07:11) - The Role of Religious Institutions in Discourse (13:14) - Playing the Long Game in Relationships (24:32) - The Role of Universities in Navigating Difference (29:16) - The Impact of Personal Identity on Scholarship (33:12) - Common Ground Amidst Differences   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about John Inazu's book, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect: https://www.jinazu.com/learning-to-disagree • 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

What can a "hot-headed New Yorker" learn from 10 years in Oman? Justin Meyers of the Al Amana Centre joins Religion Unmuted to discuss the power of shway shway—slowing down—and the strategies he's learned for moving from tolerance to hospitality. He explains how Oman's unique religious landscape—characterized by the Ibadi tradition and a culture of deep hospitality—provides a framework for peaceful coexistence and covenantal pluralism.   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about the Al Amana Centre: https://alamanacentre.org/homepage/ • 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

Is "whiteness" being worshiped in American churches? Sociologist Michael Emerson joins this episode to break down the "religion of whiteness," which he defines as a system that sacralizes white Western norms. Emerson examines how this phenomenon fuels Christian nationalism and public policy debates both in Texas and across the globe. The conversation concludes with a hopeful call for faith communities to dismantle these racialized structures by returning to original biblical narratives and fostering inclusive social movements.   TOPICS COVERED (03:28) - Understanding the Religion of Whiteness (06:14) - The Religionization of Race (10:17) - Racially Diverse or Multiracial Churches (14:00) - Challenging the Religion of Whiteness (16:24) - Global Rise of Ethno-Religious Nationalism (18:20) - The Identity Axis (24:58) - A Personal Narrative around Faith and Scholarship   RESOURCES AND LINKS • Learn more about Michael Emerson's book, The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-religion-of-whiteness-9780197746288?cc=us&lang=en& • 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

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.