Rabbi and Journalist Jay Michaelson (#366)

Rabbi and Journalist Jay Michaelson (#366)

Author: Dan Koch December 8, 2025 Duration: 1:46:26
In today’s episode, I’m joined by writer, rabbi, journalist and fellow “weird religious person” Jay Michaelson for a thought-provoking conversation that already has me scheming ways to have him back on the show! We articulate the tension between liberal theology and ecstatic spiritual experience: why do people whose politics we agree with have boring prayer services while the charismatic communities offer genuine transcendence amidst their rigid theology?  Jay opens up about overcoming his own "Christophobia" (yes, he wrote an article called "How I Finally Came to Accept Christ in My Heart"), and we dig into his concept of "small-r religion"—the intentional, piecemeal approach to meaning-making that liberal religious folks practice versus capital-R traditional religion. It gets juicy as we wrestle with whether this progressive, open-minded approach can actually compete with conservative religion's appeal in our current moment of nihilism and meaning crisis. Can pluralistic spirituality be effective at fighting back against the wide road of AI slop, economic despair, and rising authoritarianism?? I push back on Jay's darker assessments while he challenges my therapeutic optimism, and we land somewhere fascinating between acceptance, the narrow road, and what we can actually control. This one covers everything from Buddhist meditation to Trump to whether my hypothetical gay Christian clients need liberal churches. I hope you enjoy. Jay's Substack | Both/And with Jay Michaelson Jay's Book "God vs. Gay? The Reli­gious Case for Equality" Jay's Website | Jaymichaelson.net ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by Dan Koch, Religion on the Mind digs into the messy, fascinating, and deeply personal space where our inner lives meet our search for meaning. This isn't a sermon or a debate; it's a series of conversations that feel more like late-night talks with curious friends. Each episode brings in a different voice-psychologists, scholars, writers, and other experts-to explore how our beliefs, doubts, rituals, and spiritual yearnings are intertwined with the workings of the human mind. We get into the psychology behind religious experience, the spirituality that emerges outside traditional structures, and the very real ways these forces shape identity, community, and coping. The tone is thoughtful but unvarnished, embracing complexity without pretension. You'll hear genuine curiosity, nuanced perspectives, and, yes, the occasional bit of cussing when the topic calls for it. The goal is to offer a space for reflection on how these fundamental aspects of being human collide and coexist. If you've ever wondered about the psychological roots of faith, the spirituality of non-belief, or just how our brains make sense of the profound, this podcast provides a grounded, accessible entry point to those questions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Religion on the Mind
Podcast Episodes
Trusting Yourself After Religious Change (#370) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:14
In today’s episode, I’m joined by licensed professional counselor Monica DiCristina to explore the question that haunts so many people leaving conservative religious environments: What can I trust about myself? Monica sh…
Your Brain is a Large Language Model (#368) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:15
In today’s episode, I’m joined by social psychologist Dr. James Pennebaker from UT Austin to explore an uncomfortable truth: we don't use language to tell the truth—we use it to justify ourselves and protect our egos, wh…
GenDERation Gap Culture Hour with Joy, Josh and Tony (#367) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:51
Welcome to a special episode of GenDERation Gap Culture Hour with Joy Vetterlein bringing a female perspective to the conversation with me, Josh Gilbert and Tony Jones. We launch in with crystals and why religious nones…
Modern Medicine is Still Religious (#365) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:08
I sit down with Dr. Nathan Carlin, professor of medical humanities and author of The Secularization of Medicine, to explore his fascinating thesis that doctors have become the new priests of secular society. We trace how…
AI Will Not Doom Us (Nor Climate Change) (#364) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:34
We ease into today’s topic with a Top of Mind segment on two competing narratives: does having children make the future better? Or worse? From right-leaning fears of population collapse to left-leaning concerns about ove…
Cognitive Distortions & Religion, Pt 2: Jumping to Conclusions (#363) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:37
In the continuation of this series examining how cognitive distortions impact our religious beliefs and experiences, I'm diving into one of the most pervasive distortions with returning guest Molly LaCroix: jumping to co…
GGCH: Epstein Files & Hitler’s DNA (#362) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:18
We’re back with another Generation Gap Culture Hour featuring myself, Tony Jones and Josh Gilbert all representing our different generational viewpoints. As is our regular dynamic, this one kicks off with Tony disagreein…
“Sexual Wellness” or Spiritual Abuse? (#361) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:52
Definitely don’t play this one with kids around! I’m sitting down with journalist Ellen Huet to explore the rise and fall of OneTaste, a San Francisco wellness startup that built an empire around "orgasmic meditation"—a…
What is a ‘Theology of Culture’? (#360) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:49
Matthew Burdette—Episcopal priest, theologian, and editor—joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about theology and culture. We cover a little bit of everything in this one! Matthew begins by telling me about his theol…