The Religious Studies Project

Harm, AI, and Religion | Discourse! June 2023

In our final Discourse! episode of the season, Andie Alexander, Craig Martin, and Paul-François Tremlett team up to discuss the concept of “harm” and religion as it pertains to recent legislation in Texas, the role of religion in politics in Scotland’s recent election for First Minister, and questions of AI, religion, and desire. It’s quite the conversation, so be sure to tune in! RELATED ARTICLES * “Bill to Force Texas Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments Fails [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XrAhddqyK7Bpr-_qOU3piAP8qjYLBhMC]” NYT * “Texas lawmakers approve bill to allow school districts to replace counselors with chaplains [https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/05/24/chaplain-texas-commandments-christianity/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjI0MjQ2NjAwIiwicmVhc29uIjoiZ2lmdCIsIm5iZiI6MTY4NTI0NjQwMCwiaXNzIjoic3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ucyIsImV4cCI6MTY4NjU0MjM5OSwiaWF0IjoxNjg1MjQ2NDAwLCJqdGkiOiI1YWNmNzU5NS01MzU0LTQ1NTMtYjA0OC05NDA4ZWE4NTQ2OGMiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vZGMtbWQtdmEvMjAyMy8wNS8yNC9jaGFwbGFpbi10ZXhhcy1jb21tYW5kbWVudHMtY2hyaXN0aWFuaXR5LyJ9.kvK5mOO0OnJJDajvIhBaW3fq0L4cGH8K3ZDoUFOKPk0]” Washington Post * “Unlicensed religious chaplains may counsel students in Texas’ public schools after lawmakers OK proposal [https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-chaplains-schools/]” Texas Tribune * “Trouble in Texas: Lone Star State legislators are trying to merge religion and public education — and other states are following suit [https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/trouble-in-texas-lone-star-state-legislators-are-trying-to-merge-religion-and-public-education-and-other-states-are-following-suit/#]” Americans United * “Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation barring trans youth from accessing transition-related care [https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/02/texas-gender-affirming-care-ban/#:~:text=%22Children%20in%20Texas%20are%20officially,in%20a%20statement%20on%20Twitter]” Texas Tribune * “Can humans ever understand how animals think? [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/may/30/can-humans-ever-understand-how-animals-think]” The Guardian * “Seeing Spirituality in Chimpanzees [https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/chimpanzee-spirituality/475731/]” The Atlantic * “AI will be everywhere, but its rise will be mundane not apocalyptic [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/27/ai-will-be-everywhere-but-its-rise-will-be-mundane-not-apocalyptic-chatgpt]” The Guardian * “‘They’re afraid their AIs will come for them’: Doug Rushkoff on why tech billionaires are in escape mode [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/28/artificial-intelligence-doug-rushkoff-tech-billionaires-escape-mode]” The Guardian * “Is No 10 waking up to dangers of artificial intelligence? [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/26/no-10-waking-up-dangers-artificial-intelligence]” The Guardian * “AI ‘godfather’ Geoffrey Hinton warns of dangers as he quits Google [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65452940]” BBC * “Alabama Legislature votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth [https://www.npr.org/2022/04/07/1091510026/alabama-gender-affirming-care-trans-transgender]” NPR * “Alabama urges court to revive strict ban on gender-affirming care for minors [https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/alabama-urges-court-revive-strict-ban-gender-affirming-care-minors-2022-11-18/]” Reuters * “Alabama becomes the 22nd state to allow people to carry concealed guns without permit [https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/11/us/alabama-conceal-carry-permit-not-required/index.html]” CNN * GlasgowGPT [https://glasgowgpt.com/] * “It’s not bigoted to criticize Kate Forbes. Sometimes, in politics, religion is fair game [https://onlysky.media/jcroft/its-not-bigoted-to-criticize-kate-forbes/]“ * “Kate Forbes says trans women are ‘biological males’ as SNP leadership candidate faces more questions [https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/kate-forbes-says-trans-women-29272621]“

Mediatizing “Evangelicalism”: Authenticity, Identity, and Power

In today’s episode, Daniel Jones talks with Travis Warren Cooper about Cooper’s recent book, The Digital Evangelicals: Contesting Authority and Authenticity After the New Media Turn [https://iupress.org/9780253062260/the-digital-evangelicals/] (Indiana University Press, 2022) and they discuss how issues of authenticity, authority, and power are deeply intertwined with US “evangelicalism” and its mediatization. Be sure to tune in!

What’s Sincerity Got to Do With American Secularism?

In this episode, Charles McCrary joins Matt Sheedy to discuss the role of sincerity in shaping American conceptions of religion that he explores in his recent book Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo135951072.html] (University of Chicago Press, 2022). Tracing a cultural history of “sincerely held religious beliefs,” from 19th century court cases on fortune telling and the policing of morality in New York, to conscientious objectors in the 1940s and 1960s, McCrary helps us understand how the U.S. Supreme Court has determined who and what counts as ‘religious’ as American secularism developed over the last century. Questions of race, gender, and sex are also in the mix, as recent cases have shifted the burden of sincerity from the protection of ‘minority’ beliefs to the rights of people and corporations to deny people services if they feel it violates their religious freedom. Also, as noted by Charlie and Matt in the episode, this discussion is a great conversation partner for our recent episode with Finbarr Curtis [https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/persons/finbarr-curtis/], “Spitting on the Sacred: Politics and Redefining Profanation [https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/spitting-on-the-sacred-politics-and-redefining-profanation/]“—be sure to check it out if you missed it!

What’s Happening Down Under? | Discourse! May 2023

For our May episode, Discourse! heads Down Under once again as ⅔ of our usual suspects—Carole Cusack & Raymond Radford—explore religion, politics, life and death in the Australian religious sphere. They cover a variety of recent issues from the banning of hate symbols and the rise of right groups in the wake of the pandemic, to Australian sovereign citizens and gun deaths, to the deaths of high profile priests and the different (and indifferent) reactions from both politics and media. Be sure to tune in! ARTICLES DISCUSSED * “Why were neo-Nazis at an anti-trans rally in Melbourne? [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2023/mar/22/why-were-neo-nazis-at-an-anti-trans-rally-in-melbourne]“ * “Victoria to ban Nazi salute after ‘disgusting’ scenes at anti-trans protest [https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/20/victoria-to-ban-nazi-salute-after-anti-trans-protest-melbourne-australia?fbclid=IwAR0yE9bhAj8KhZkUjrB145wswBmmUflnQYOwG3gxkZmSqihakGnnaqaKOns]“ * “Moves to ban Nazi hate symbols across the nation [https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8140873/moves-to-ban-nazi-hate-symbols-across-the-nation/?fbclid=IwAR05SBgfqfm3cNlopsfeyIe80i3r2Z5gmFomg8a9OkzEsNI1Wc_wUR0IhXU]“ * “Queensland police arrest 12 members of religious group over death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs [https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/05/queensland-police-arrest-12-members-of-religious-group-the-saints-over-toowoomba-death-of-eight-year-old-elizabeth-rose-struhs?fbclid=IwAR2xuHs56SeD_tzNv8uE5tDxjJr1T8SLUg7IkOGV-kLASePJdKGJXjUwBig]“ * “Queensland police say Wieambilla shooting was ‘a religiously motivated terrorist attack’ [https://amp.abc.net.au/article/101983612?fbclid=IwAR3cpH7gWD4Qf-qsQZDtDrywG2dSTuVu-tQaAIXYU3B11ASxnJEzZJ4Fc0k]“ * “6 dead, including 2 police, in Queensland shooting. How dangerous is policing in Australia? [https://theconversation.com/amp/6-dead-including-2-police-in-queensland-shooting-how-dangerous-is-policing-in-australia-196459?fbclid=IwAR1h3LlwZsbj_4BBpInzryECpBtW1JaHqfBDGx5H661v22SU09nXKutbGkQ]“ * “A ‘Lionheart’ to some, a villain to others – George Pell’s funeral proves as divisive as his life [https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/02/cardinal-george-pell-funeral-sydney-australia?fbclid=IwAR3AuhRzCIZW6hPMz3_meDOX7FApmwzNzRGz-qsxRGksYeYbtYl8_M6EJSc]“ * “Father Bob Maguire farewelled at Melbourne state funeral as John Safran leads tributes [https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/05/father-bob-maguire-farewelled-at-melbourne-state-funeral-as-john-safran-leads-tributes?fbclid=IwAR04sgvhNG9OCm1hPh_iAfOcRx3rQRoWv2KhXj6EWnM3brgqLXpiI7FTJ_0]“ * “Anthony Albanese welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sydney [https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/anthony-albanese-welcomes-indian-prime-minister-narendra-modi-to-sydney/news-story/57966bcbf1bee619f629a7fefd69e6ae?amp]“ * Depends What You Mean by Extremist: Going Rogue with Australian Deplorables [https://www.penguin.com.au/books/depends-what-you-mean-by-extremist-9780143789895?fbclid=IwAR0aVwsETdJIVffVFnsi7BiC5HvO15eInrUVasZDAisVDMH9exFMootPOfE], John Safran

Charting the Playful & Proper Study of Religion

In this week’s episode Sam Gill joins RSP editor Andie Alexander to discuss his recent book The Proper Study of Religion: Building on Jonathan Z. Smith. They consider different methodological and theoretical questions in the academic study of religion, such as comparison, difference-making, play & movement, experience, and “storytracking”—a narrative technique and method for critical self-reflection and scholarly analysis. Gill outlines a playful and proper study of religion that builds on the work of the late J. Z. Smith and demonstrates how a critical scholar of religion might apply Smith’s methods in their own scholarship.