Church & Culture Podcast

Dr. James Emery White
  • 4.8 (74)
  • Christianity

The Church & Culture podcast is a weekly discussion with Dr. James Emery White on the latest trends happening in culture, and where and how the church should respond. While this podcast reflects on the church's part in what may be going on in the world, it is very much a show that anyone, no matter what walk of life you may have come from or are currently in, can glean useful information. Some episodes may be an extended conversation based off one of Dr. White's bi-weekly blog posts, as he does not shy away from the controversial hot topics. So to be ready for full context, be sure to subscribe to the Church & Culture Blog at ChurchandCulture.org.

  1. 4d ago

    CCP218: On Using Magic for Love

    In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the fact that a lot of people today believe magic can play a role in their relationships. A recent survey revealed some interesting beliefs surrounding magic and love. The results were captured in an article written by Emma Patterson titled “64% of Gen Z Have Tried Something Spiritual, Psychic, or ‘Witchy’ for Love. It really is shocking how much thinking like this is invading our culture today. Episode Links As Alexis mentioned, this is not the first time that the world of the supernatural has been a topic on the podcast. Here are some past episodes that we suggest you check out if you missed them: CCP180: On Magic, CCP171: On Halloween, CCP151: On Spirits and Ghosts and CCP11: On Wicca. Dr. White also delivered a message series at Mecklenburg Community Church to help people have a better understanding of our world and the spiritual realm. You can find the installments of the series “Paranormal” HERE. There was another article that Dr. White mentioned that was discussed in today’s episode. Written by Syeda Khaula Saad in Cosmopolitan, it’s titled “An Etsy Witch Talks Love and Devotion Spells.” And finally, Dr. White made reference to the writings of Pitirim A. Sorokin, and particularly his lengthy four-volume work Social and Cultural Dynamics. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP218: On Using Magic for Love

  2. Oct 23

    CCP217: On Online Sports Betting

    In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the world of online sports betting, which is becoming more and more popular each year. In fact, nearly a quarter of Americans claim to have personally bet money on sports in the past year. So does the Bible have anything to say about this? And about gambling in general? Today’s episode digs into these questions. Episode Links Dr. White wrote a blog on this topic that we’d suggest you go back and revisit. It’s called “Gambling on the Game,” and you can find it on the Church & Culture website HERE. The topic of gambling was also an installment of an incredibly popular series that Dr. White gave at Mecklenburg Community Church. The title of the series was “Is it okay for a Christian to…,” and the installments filled in the blank with a host of topics that people have questions about when it comes to the Christian faith. You can find that series HERE. There are a number of articles that served as sources for the content in today’s conversation. If you’d like to find out more about what’s happening with this culturally, how it’s impacting people’s lives, and how the church is beginning to weigh in, you can click the titles below to read the article: McKay Coppins, “Sucker: My Year as a Degenerate Gambler,” The Atlantic. Will Gottsegen, “A Bet That Young People Are Willing to Make,” The Atlantic. McKay Coppins, “Churches Are Finally Making the Moral Case Against Sports Betting,” The Atlantic. Kimberly Adams & Alex Schroeder, “What are sports betting apps doing to help problem gamblers?” Marketplace. Jake Pearson, “I Deliberately Bet Like a Problem Gambler. DraftKings Made Me a VIP.” ProPublica. Max Read, “How Everything Became Gambling,” The New York Times. Windsor Johnston, “With the Surge in Sports Betting, the Risk of Gambling Addiction Rises Too,” National Public Radio. Katia Riddle, “As Sports Betting Has Soared, More People Search Online for Help with Gambling Addiction,” National Public Radio. Finally, if you or something you know is struggling with an addiction to gambling, you can contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Chat either by phone or by text HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP217: On Online Sports Betting

  3. Oct 16

    CCP216: On Having Christian Candidates in Both Political Parties

    In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent NPR article focusing on the common thread that's present in the midterm campaigns of multiple Democratic candidates. Several office-seekers have made their Christian faith central to their campaign, using it to either explain or justify their positions or postures, or in order to display how important their faith is to their public life. What is causing this rise in the Democratic candidates appealing to their faith, and how does this trend square with the rise of the “nones” in the U.S.? Episode Links As both Alexis and Dr. White noted, this is not the first time that our conversation on the podcast has turned to the world of politics. Here are a number of past episodes (some of which were referenced), that you may be interested in going back to listen to if you missed them: CCP201: On Christian Nationalism (Summer Rerun) CCP168: On Pastors Promoting Political Candidates CCP129: On the 2024 Election Results CCP112: On January 6 and the Fastest Growing Christian Movement in America CCP83: On Christians and Government CCP82: On Christians and Politics Above we mentioned the rise of the “nones.” For those who may not know, Dr. White wrote an entire book on this demographic and their impact on our culture. You can find The Rise of the Nones on Amazon HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP216: On Having Christian Candidates in Both Political Parties

  4. Oct 9

    CCP215: On Polygamy

    In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the culturally hot topic of polygamy. A new series on Netflix has been gaining a lot of attention. It’s called The Polygamist, and it follows the story of a woman named Joyce Gomora whose husband had three other wives and a mistress. While globally only ~2% of the population lives in a polygamous household, it’s most widely practiced in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, here in the U.S., we seem to have a fascination with this lifestyle, and there’s even been an increase in the number of people who view polygamy as morally acceptable.Episode LinksAs Alexis mentioned at the top of the podcast, we took a break the past two weeks to release two of the interviews from last year’s Church & Culture Conference. We hope that you enjoyed them, and we’d love to invite you to join us this year. You can get all the details and register HERE.Dr. White noted early in the conversation that it’s difficult to have a conversation about polygamy without also discussing Mormonism. For a deeper dive into this topic, we’d suggest you check out a past podcast episode: CCP18: On Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Another past episode that may be of interest on a related subject is: CCP93: On Polyamory.Finally, there are several articles that are relevant to today’s conversation that we’d encourage you to take the time to read if you’re interested:Emmanuel Nwachukwu, “Christians Debate Polygamy After Netflix Show Hits No. 1,” Christianity Today.“Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” PubMedCentral of the National Library of Medicine.Stephanie Kramer, “Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions,” Pew Research Center.Lindsay Whitehurst, “Utah lawmakers get tough on porn, ease up on polygamy,” Religion News Service.For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP215: On Polygamy

  5. Oct 2

    CCP214: On the Friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

    As you heard last week, we’re taking a break from our usual format on the podcast since we’re gearing up for the 2026 Church & Culture Conference on Thursday, October 15. Last week, we featured an interview between Dr. White and Dr. Christian Smith. In today’s episode, we’re airing the conversation between Dr. White and author and illustrator John Hendrix. They’re exploring the friendship that formed between two men who have gifted so much to the world through their writings - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Episode Links John wrote an exceptionally well-informed and researched book, creatively presented as a graphic novel, on their lives titled The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It explores their personal biographies, their friendship, their creativity, their thinking, their motivations, and, of course, their faith. In this conversation, they discuss the key revelations, insights and ongoing significance of their lives. And specifically, the great ideas of the "myth that came true" from Lewis and Tolkien's shared project. You can get all of the details about this year’s Church & Culture Conference, including the six conference sessions, tiered pricing and more, by visiting the conference website HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and to check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP214: On the Friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

  6. Sep 25

    CCP213: On Americans Losing Faith in Traditional Religion

    We’re taking a break from our usual format on the podcast this week. In case you haven’t heard, we’re gearing up for the 2026 Church & Culture Conference on Thursday, October 15. We thought it would be fun for the next two weeks to give you a peek into the type of learning that comes from this annual event. In today’s episode, we’re featuring a conversation between Dr. White and Dr. Christian Smith - one of the leading sociologists of our day - on how Americans seem to be losing their faith in traditional religion. Episode Links The conversation focused on Dr. Smith’s latest book, which may be his tour de force. While the “rise of the nones” is now commonly understood, what Smith did in his most recent book - Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America - is to examine “why” this has happened. Drawing on extensive survey data and hundreds of interviews, Smith offers the best analysis to date of why so many Americans have lost their faith in traditional religion. You can find his book HERE. You can get all of the details about this year’s Church & Culture Conference, including the six conference sessions, tiered pricing and more, by visiting the conference website HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and to check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP213: On Americans Losing Faith in Traditional Religion

  7. Sep 18

    CCP212: On Interfaith Marriages

    In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how more and more families are facing questions regarding the religious upbringing of their children, particularly when they don't share the same faith. According to the most recent Religious Landscape Study (RLS), 26% of married US adults say their spouse has a different religious identity from their own. This can lead to more complexities than people may realize. Episode Links In addition to the Pew Research Center article looking at the results of the RLS (which you can find HERE), they discussed another article at the top of the podcast titled “Maine’s high court rules father can restrict daughter’s church attendance.” This serves as just one example of how complicated the dynamic can get between parents who don’t share the same faith - especially if the marriage ends. Dr. White mentioned the importance of passing on your faith to your children, particularly for those who would consider themselves Christ followers. He is currently in a six-week series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “iParent: The New Challenges of Family in an Online, Non-Stop, Information-Overloaded, Broken, Unchurched World.” Among the installments is one titled “Rise of the Nones,” which would be helpful for a deeper dive into today’s topic. You can find that series on Church & Culture HERE. The conversation turned to marriage, and how important it is - again, especially if you are a Christian - to find a partner who shares the same faith. There are a number of series that Dr. White has given at Mecklenburg Community Church on the topic of marriage and relationships (you can find those all HERE), but there are two series in particular that we would like to suggest. The first is called “Significant Other” and explores the levels of intimacy you should be looking for in a partner. The second is called “Holy Matrimony,” which focuses on what makes that bond more than simply a marriage through the lens of the Bible. Finally, Dr. White mentioned a book written by Lee and Leslie Strobel, which he explained has so many helpful takeaways for people who are wrestling with an interfaith marriage. It’s titled Spiritual Mismatch: Hope for Christians Married to Someone Who Doesn’t Know God, and you can find it on Amazon HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News mentioned above. We’d also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you’d like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

  8. Sep 11

    CCP211: On Socialism

    In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a news story that was recently posted to Church & Culture's Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe shared each weekday. This story was an opinion piece written by Peggy Noonan for The Wall Street Journal titled “Socialism Is Here—and It's Serious.” Not surprisingly, many people in today's culture don't really seem to have a clear understanding of what socialism is. Episode Links You heard Dr. White mention some data from the Harvard Caps/Harris poll in the episode. Much of this is fleshed out in another article in The Wall Street Journal written by Mark Penn and Andrew Stein titled “Socialism and the Dumbest Generation.” The subtitle of this article is very telling: “Young people embrace an ideology that goes against everything they actually believe.” It's hard to touch on a conversation about politics and not also have it bleed into religion these days, and that's not the first time this has been a part of the podcast. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to two very helpful episodes: CCP82: On Christians and Politics and CCP83: On Christians and Government. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News mentioned above. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

    CCP211: On Socialism
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4.8
out of 5
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About

The Church & Culture podcast is a weekly discussion with Dr. James Emery White on the latest trends happening in culture, and where and how the church should respond. While this podcast reflects on the church's part in what may be going on in the world, it is very much a show that anyone, no matter what walk of life you may have come from or are currently in, can glean useful information. Some episodes may be an extended conversation based off one of Dr. White's bi-weekly blog posts, as he does not shy away from the controversial hot topics. So to be ready for full context, be sure to subscribe to the Church & Culture Blog at ChurchandCulture.org.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. James Emery White
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    218
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 by Dr. James Emery White
  • Show Website
    Church & Culture Podcast

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