Complexified

Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, Amanda Henderson, Iliff School of Theology

For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But the truth is, religion and politics are about daily life. When we avoid the hard topics connected to religion and politics, we become stuck in the status quo. On Complexified we dive into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, so we can get unstuck- so we can make real change. We dive into our most entrenched problems to better understand the hidden histories and experiences of real people on the front lines. We look at the ways religion has shaped our systems - and the ways we see ourselves and others– from there, we work together to imagine new paths forward.

  1. The Myth of Sudden Change: How the First Woman Archbishop Got There

    -1 ДН.

    The Myth of Sudden Change: How the First Woman Archbishop Got There

    When Sarah Mullally was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury, it looked like a breakthrough. It was. But it didn't happen by accident. In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with Catherine Pepinster, a journalist who reported on Mullally's rise and the network who helped make it possible. Before women could even become bishops in the Church of England, a small group of clergy saw a gap: being allowed to lead and actually getting there are two very different things. So they built Leading Women, a mentoring organization designed to prepare female candidates for leadership inside one of the world's oldest institutional churches — one still embedded in British parliamentary life and still navigating deep divisions over sexuality and abuse. Pepinster traces Mullally's path from chief nurse of Britain's National Health Service to the most powerful seat in Anglican Christianity — a woman who has reached the top of two professions in one lifetime. She also maps what Mullally is walking into: an institution in numerical decline that still sits at the center of British public life, now led by a woman who will serve only six years and inherit two unresolved crises her predecessor couldn't survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    23 мин.
  2. Are You a Starseed? The Search for Meaning, Rewritten

    23 МАР.

    Are You a Starseed? The Search for Meaning, Rewritten

    Inside a growing spiritual movement built around awakening, ascension, and the search for something bigger At a packed conference in Los Angeles, thousands of people gathered to explore a different way of understanding reality—through crystals, energy healing, and the belief that some humans didn’t originate on Earth. They’re called starseeds: people who believe they were sent here from other planets to help humanity “ascend” to a higher dimension. According to our guest RNS reporter Kathryn Post, it might sound fringe. But the deeper you go, the more familiar the underlying search begins to feel. Because the people drawn to this world aren’t so different from anyone else. They’re looking for meaning, for purpose, for a way to make sense of suffering. And increasingly, they’re finding those answers online—through influencers, shared language, and communities that have no central authority. But as these beliefs spread, they’re also evolving. In some cases, blending with conspiracy theories about hidden elites, cosmic battles, and the end of the world as we know it. So what happens when belief becomes entirely personal—but still somehow shared? And how do you tell the difference between a spiritual search… and something more dangerous? RELATED: Starseeds, government plots and an alien mantis: Inside New Age spirituality's new age Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    25 мин.
  3. Texas Created a Program to Fund Religious Schools. So Why Are Muslim Schools Missing?

    17 МАР.

    Texas Created a Program to Fund Religious Schools. So Why Are Muslim Schools Missing?

    Muslim families in Texas are asking: does school choice include us? A Houston father went to enroll his kids in Texas's new school voucher program and discovered his school wasn't on the list — along with every other Islamic school in the state. Texas launched one of the country's largest school choice programs promising families public funds for religious private schools, but roughly a hundred Muslim schools were excluded without official explanation. State officials have posted publicly about not funding schools tied to terrorist organizations, pointing to Governor Abbott's designation of CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization — a designation the federal government has not made. Now families are suing with a March 17th deadline bearing down. Amanda Henderson talks with RNS reporter Fiona André and editor-in-chief Paul O'Donnell about the lawsuits, the communities affected, and what this moment reveals about who "school choice" was really built for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    18 мин.
  4. Baptizing the Battlefield: Pete Hegseth's Holy War at the Pentagon

    11 МАР. ·  БОНУСНЫЙ КОНТЕНТ

    Baptizing the Battlefield: Pete Hegseth's Holy War at the Pentagon

    When the podium becomes a pulpit. At a Pentagon press briefing this week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth closed his remarks with a reading from the Book of Psalms and ended with "Amen." Press briefings don't usually end that way. RNS reporter Jack Jenkins joins Amanda Henderson to trace how we got here — from monthly worship services in the Pentagon auditorium to biblical scripture overlaid on weapons systems to a Secretary of War who told his troops the nation needed to be "on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." When the podium becomes a pulpit, what happens to everything else? That question hasn't gotten easier. 00:00 — Introduction: When the Podium Becomes a Pulpit 01:27 — The Original Episode: Setting the Scene 02:41 — The Generals' Meeting and the Warrior Ethos 05:14 — Christianity in the Military: Civil Religion vs. Hegseth's Faith 06:57 — "SecWar's Worship Service": The Pentagon Prayer Series 07:59 — Bible Verses Over Fighter Jets: The Social Media Campaign 10:15 — Recruitment, Viral Content, and Capital-B Believers 12:50 — The Theological Question: Faith as Military Doctrine 15:17 — Pushback — and Why It's Hard to Find 17:14 — Closing: The Baptism of the Military Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    22 мин.

  5. 2 МАР.

    From Purity Rings to Shooting Your Dog: How Christian Womanhood Went MAGA

    When empathy became toxic and cruelty became strength for Christian women. Christian womanhood has changed—and not in the ways many expected. In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with the co-hosts of the Saved By The City podcast Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone about the shift from 1990s purity culture to today’s trad wives, MAGA moms, and warnings against “toxic empathy.” They unpack how pandemic burnout, influencer culture, and widening political gender gaps reshaped the ideal Christian woman—and why empathy itself has become a flashpoint. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    28 мин.

  6. 23 ФЕВР.

    What's Next for American Jews and Israel? A Half-Century of Consensus Weakens.

    Are six decades of solidarity giving way to generational strain? For much of the last half-century, support for Israel was a defining pillar of American Jewish life. It shaped institutions, philanthropy, politics, and identity. The consensus wasn’t always quiet — but it was broad. Today, that consensus is under strain. Younger American Jews — many raised in synagogues, camps, and on Birthright trips — are expressing a different relationship to Israel than their parents and grandparents. Some are building alternative communities. Some are challenging legacy organizations. Some are questioning whether Israel should remain the organizing center of American Jewish life at all. Meanwhile, established institutions are responding with urgency — and anxiety – warning of rising antisemitism, political danger, and fractures that could reshape the community for decades. This tension didn’t begin on October 7. But October 7 — and the war that followed — has intensified it. Religion reporter Yonat Shimron joins us to trace the full arc: from postwar American Jewish flourishing, to decades of near-consensus, to the generational and institutional rupture unfolding now. What changed? Who gets to define Jewish responsibility? And what happens next? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 мин.

  7. 16 ФЕВР.

    When Trauma Becomes Identity: What Young Jews Are Learning After October 7

    "We're the people everyone hates." That's what Rabbi Steven Burg hears when he asks young Jews who they are. October 7 accelerated this. In the aftermath of the attacks, lines were drawn between support for an occupied Gaza and the security of the Jewish state and people. Progressive coalitions found themselves fracturing. Interfaith partnerships strained to stay together. Students found themselves abandoned by people they thought were allies. But Burg says the problem runs deeper than politics. In this episode, host Amanda Henderson talks with Rabbi Steven Burg about what happens to religious identity when an entire generation can only define themselves by who hates them—and what it takes to move from trauma to something they're actually for. RELATED: Rabbi Steven Burg: "We cannot allow ourselves to be reduced to victims."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    22 мин.

  8. 10 ФЕВР.

    The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts at the Grassroots

    Complexified welcomes the Rev. William Barber II, architect of the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina, as he sets out to reclaim voters that ran to the right in the last presidential election.Who are these voters?  Low-income voters earning less than $50,000 who favored Donald Trump by roughly 1% in 2024. That margin, according to Rev. Barber, is reversible, by campaigning being for something instead of against.Join host Amanda Henderson as she and Rev. Barber discuss the presumptions around low income voters, movement strategizing, modes of resistance, and responds to a challenge issued by the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to debate immigration theology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    24 мин.
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For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But the truth is, religion and politics are about daily life. When we avoid the hard topics connected to religion and politics, we become stuck in the status quo. On Complexified we dive into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, so we can get unstuck- so we can make real change. We dive into our most entrenched problems to better understand the hidden histories and experiences of real people on the front lines. We look at the ways religion has shaped our systems - and the ways we see ourselves and others– from there, we work together to imagine new paths forward.

Информация

  • Автор
    Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, Amanda Henderson, Iliff School of Theology
  • Годы выхода
    2022 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    90
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Сайт подкаста
    Complexified

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