Why Study Religion? (#346)

Why Study Religion? (#346)

Author: Dan Koch September 2, 2025 Duration: 1:13:11
In this week’s episode of You Have Permission, I sit down with Dr. Richard B. Miller, Professor Emeritus from the University of Chicago Divinity School, to tackle his blunt question (and the title of his book): Why Study Religion?  What starts as a defense against critics like Sam Harris—who'd rather we just stick to the "straight dope" of science—quickly spirals into something much more provocative: religion as the ultimate training ground for navigating our hypermediated, pluralistic world where we're drowning in conflicting authorities and information overload. Miller argues that religious studies isn't just academic navel-gazing but a crucial skill-building exercise in what he calls "post-critical reasoning," teaching us to hold multiple worldviews in tension without falling into either fundamentalist certainty or relativistic paralysis.  We discuss why the secularization hypothesis got it wrong, how contemplative traditions across religions offer surprising resources for the ecological crisis, and why understanding the religious "wackadoodles" (my term, not his) might be the key to actually changing minds rather than just preaching to the choir.  By the end, I'm wrestling with my own biases about expanding this podcast beyond Christianity, and you'll be questioning whether your discomfort with religion says more about the world's problems or your own assumptions about how to solve them. Richard's Book | Why Religion Matters? ___________________________________________ 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
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Anxiety & OCD Across Generations (#359) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:05
I'm sitting down with my friend of 12 years, Sara Billups, to talk about her brand new book Nervous Systems—and all the many meanings implied in its title. We start with how anxiety gets passed down through generations.…
When Fiction Reveals a Deeper Truth (#358) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:55
Today I’m joined by my brother-in-law Cameron Reed and fellow therapist Gabe Cortez to explore fiction through the lens of psychology and spirituality. We’re planning a series of conversations on Religion & Fiction in wh…
Why John Mark McMillan Walked Away From The Music Industry (#356) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:33
I sit down with musician John Mark McMillan for an exclusive conversation about something I never thought I'd see—one of contemporary Christian music's most boundary-pushing artists stepping away from the touring life af…
Theology Beer Camp Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:07
Here's a little update after our weekend in St. Paul, MN for Theology Beer Camp 2025. See you on Monday with our regular episode! ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ O…
Cognitive Distortions & Religion, Pt 1: Should/Must Statements (#355) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:51:07
I'm launching a new series diving deep into cognitive distortions—those sneaky thinking errors we all fall into—and exploring how they show up at the intersection of psychology and religion. In this first episode, I tack…