While race and religion may seem separate, they are inextricably linked. In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we’ll unpack racism’s roots in religious colonialism, its presence in Indigenous boarding schools, and its effects on our...

Christianity isn’t just about Jesus. In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we explore the many faces of the world’s most popular religion—its denominations, commonalities, and complexities.

How many genders are there? In this episode of Crash Course Religions, we’ll learn how religious communities construct ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality, and why these concepts aren’t as timeless or unchanging as they might seem.

Frans de Waal, Emory University’s award-winning primatologist discusses how the current anthropological thinking is that religious sentiment developed to control group behavior once societies reached a certain size.

David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue, traces the roots of matrilineality to the times of Jewish persecution.

Historian Nile Green (UCLA) describes how his invocation of the model of religious economy for Islam gives benefits to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Historian Nile Green (UCLA) describes how the model of religious economy explains both the evolution and diversity of organized religion, and some of the benefits of applying it to Islam.

Historian David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) disagrees with those who claim that the United States is a counter-example to Weberian secularization theory.

Historian David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) discusses the link between socioeconomic class and religious belief in contemporary America.

Renowned polymath Freeman Dyson (Institute for Advanced Study) gives his views on religion, science and community.

Award-winning author Pankaj Mishra describes how many people educated in the Western tradition, himself included, have only recently come to appreciate the intellectual significance of many aspects of Buddhist thought.

Rabbi Emeritus David J. Goldberg candidly relates his personal, unorthodox views on the nature of God and the Jews, and describes the reactions he received to his public avowals of his beliefs.

David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue describes how we all share the need for ritual.

Historian Nile Green (UCLA) describes how the model of religious economy is relevant to Iran.

David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue, explains how all too often his views on Jewish identity are overshadowed by his politic critiques of Israeli policy.

Primatologist Frans de Waal (Emory) describes how conventional wisdom has moved from believing that humans were inherently selfish to now viewing us as “super-cooperators.”

Historian Nile Green (UCLA) describes how adopting the model of religious economy allows us to make better sense of the difference between all manner of violent and non-violent religious sects.

David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue tackles the thorny question, Who is a Jew?

Rabbi Emeritus David J. Goldberg describes two core values that he believes to have been associated with the Jewish people over the past three and a half thousand years: freedom and justice.

Historian David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) describes the Ecumenical Protestant movement and how it can be distinguished from its Evangelical counterpart.

Author and independent scholar Pankaj Mishra describes how many Eastern ideas and perspectives have been routinely ignored by the West.

Historian David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) relates his frustration of having religious beliefs being simultaneously private and independent of the American political culture.

Primatologist Frans de Waal (Emory) relates his frustration with both fundamentalists and so-called neo-atheists, both of whom he believes inhibit an open discussion on morality.

Historian David Hollinger (UC Berkeley) describes how the American Civil Rights movement provides a clear example of different reactions by Ecumenical and Evangelical Protestants.