Self-aware Christianity with Tim Burnette (#383)

Self-aware Christianity with Tim Burnette (#383)

Author: Dan Koch March 2, 2026 Duration: 1:22:35
In this episode, I sit down with Tim Burnette — founder of The Way Collective in Santa Barbara — to explore what it looks like to build a psychologically astute, contemplative Christianity for our fractured moment. We dig into the inner critic, anxiety, and how therapeutic practices like IFS, CBT, and acceptance and commitment therapy share a surprisingly deep resonance with contemplative traditions around the true self and nonviolence. Tim shares his own journey through panic attacks and cancer scares, and we trace how learning to attend to anxious thoughts — rather than fight or flee from them — might just be both good therapy and good spirituality.  If you've ever wondered whether your therapist and your mystic are secretly after the same thing, this one's for you. ___________________________________________ 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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nickryanluevano.com⁠ 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: 50

Religion on the Mind
Podcast Episodes
Psychology & Religion at the World Cup (#408) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:00
⁠**Participate in my next Spiritual Abuse Research Study**⁠ Guests: Victoria Jackson & Terry Shoemaker Topics: Religion, sport, and the sacred — evangelical baggage and finite vs. eternal stakes (7:00) Maradona's "Hand o…
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Duration: 1:06:54
Guest: Daryl Van Tongeren Returns! (⁠Hope College⁠ / ⁠"Done") Topics: Are most people living in a kind of illusion? (0:00) How people spend their time (17:14) What makes humans special: Christianity and existentialism ag…
Christianity Vs. Existentialism | Part 1 (#405) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:28
Guest: Daryl Van Tongeren Returns! (Hope College / "Done") Topics: What is existentialism and existential psychology? (5:25) Does life have a predetermined purpose, or do we make our own? (19:00) Faith and uncertainty (4…
Why Tribalism is So Natural (#404) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:03
Guest: Barrabas! (Tim Burnette returns) Topics: • Religion after religion (7:04) • In-group Religion (10:58) • Is there moral and spiritual progress? (25:04) • Haidt's Rider & Elephant (32:51) • Collective effervescence…
Study Hall: Sex, Aging & Purity Culture (#403) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:06
Sex drive, religious formation, and the stubborn residue of purity culture — welcome back to Study Hall, where I bring you along as I cram for my licensure exam and connect to the psychology of religion along the way. To…
When Theater Kids go to Youth Group (#401) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:08
In this episode, comedian and podcaster Jordan Morris describes growing up as a youth group kid in Orange County, and how those experiences informed his new graphic novel Youth Group, which treats its faith-filled charac…
Purpose & Calling After Religious Change (#400) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:10
Psychologist Dr. Pamela Epstein King returns to explore how religious systems provide purpose, calling, and meaning — and what happens to those foundations when people go through significant religious change. Pam's Facul…
The Jewish Renewal Movement with Rabbi Simcha Raphael (#399) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:30
I sit down with Rabbi Dr. Simcha Raphael and learn about his remarkably wide-ranging spiritual journey. From a traditional Montreal Hebrew education through India, the San Francisco counterculture, and ultimately into th…