How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality

For many people, the word “sin” is associated with harsh judgment and shame. Or, it’s used to talk about guilty pleasures like consuming decadent desserts... But is this concept as harmful or outdated as it seems?

Join Dave as he talks with Elizabeth Oldfield about Christianity’s Seven Deadly Sins, and how reconceptualizing them for modern life can offer a science-backed user’s manual of sorts to find joy and connection in this world, whatever your beliefs.  

Elizabeth Oldfield is host of The Sacred podcast and author of the book Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. She also writes the Substack newsletter Fully Alive and works as a coach, consultant and facilitator. Find out more about her work on her website.

Join us for Season 7 of How God Works, starting next week! 

We've had a lot of new listeners join us of the past year, so while we're hard at work on our next season, we thought we'd share some favorites you might have missed from the archives.

Have you ever heard a voice, seen an image, or felt a presence around you that you couldn’t explain? If you have, you’re not alone. 

More people than you might think report having these kinds of experiences. For some, it can be easy to write these off as tricks of the mind. But for others, especially the religious and spiritually-inclined, these events are often transformative and can profoundly alter the way they feel about their faith. So how is it that gods come to feel real to people? What do these experiences do for those who have them? And why, sometimes, does it feel like the supernatural world is connecting with us out of the blue?

Tanya Luhrmann is an anthropologist at Stanford University. Find out more about her book, How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others, on her website, where you’ll also find links to her other writing and media appearances.

Michael Ferguson is a neuroscientist at Harvard University. Find out more about his research and teaching through his website.

Reverend Liz Milner is ordained in the Episcopal Church. She works with prison inmates in northern California.

Episode info and transcript available here.

We've had a lot of new listeners join us of the past year, so while we're hard at work on our next season, we thought we'd share some favorites you might have missed from the archives.

As a society that fears death, we tend to avoid the subject. But the key to having a positive end-of-life experience might come in doing just the opposite. 

On this episode, we’ll hear from philosopher Simon Critchley, Boston-area chaplains Ruth Delfiner, Sarah Byrne-Martelli, and Maude Quinn, and Threshold Choir singer Leigh Davis about what makes a good death, and the many rituals, spiritual or secular, that ease our transition out of this world.

Simon Critchley is the author of many books about death, including The Book of Dead Philosophers and How to Stop Living and Start Worrying. Find out more about his other work, including his most recent book, Bald, on his website.

In addition to her work as a chaplain, Sarah Byrne-Martelli is the author of Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians, due out this summer.

Find out about Leigh Davis’s art on her website, where you can also see some of her collaborations with the Threshold Choir. Find out more about the Threshold Choir here. See Threshold Choir song credits here.

Episode info and transcript available here.

We've had a lot of new listeners join us of the past year, so while we're hard at work on our next season, we thought we'd share some favorites you might have missed from the archives.

For centuries, many cultures have used psychedelics to induce mystical states. And while in the US they’ve mostly been used as recreational drugs, interest in their power to offer a rapid route to transcendence has recently been growing. But in our haste to use these chemicals to alter, and perhaps even heal, the mind, we might be losing sight that with speed comes risk.

Join Dave as he talks with author Michael Pollan and researcher David Yaden about the nature of self-transcendent experiences, the science of how psychedelics can bring them on, and the dangers of disregarding centuries of shamanic knowledge about how to use them wisely.

Episode info and transcript available here.

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Anger, loneliness, and despair are hitting record levels in the US. Our social and political fabrics are fraying. Is the turn away from religion in the US part of the problem? And if so, might a spiritual renaissance (even among the secular left) help us find new ways to flourish? Join Dave as he talks with podcast host Krista Tippett and US Senator Chris Murphy about the role spirituality (or the lack thereof) plays in our individual and societal wellbeing.

Krista Tippett is the host of the acclaimed podcast and radio show On Being. Learn more about the On Being Project’s work in the world here, and be sure to check out their YouTube channel for a rich selection of inspiring and informative videos.

Chris Murphy is a U.S. Senator representing the State of Connecticut. Learn more about his work on his website, and read his column on the need for a spiritual revival among the political left here.

Science and religion can often seem at loggerheads. But does it have to be that way? Dr. Francis Collins, one of the world’s leading scientists, doesn’t think so. As an internationally renowned geneticist, a recent past director of the US National Institutes of Health (where he helped guide the U.S. response to COVID), and an avowed Christian, he’s a leading voice for how and why belief in God can be rational, and for a greater openness to science among Evangelical Christians.

In a special live interview, Dave talks with Francis about his journey from skeptic to believer, why he thinks science and religion aren’t incompatible, what New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker get wrong in their battles against religion, and the ways in which religion can help (e.g. reducing suffering) or hinder (e.g. resistance to COVID vaccines) people’s health. For much of human history, religion and science coexisted and even learned from one another. Join Dave to explore how that can still be true. 

Francis Collins is the founder of BioLogos, which is dedicated to showing how science and faith can work hand in hand. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Language of God.

When it comes to how we treat other animals, humanity’s track record is spotty at best. Has it always been that way? And how do the beliefs we hold about animals shape how we treat them? Are they really as different from us as Western culture has long suggested?

Join Dave as he speaks with anthropologist Dave Aftandilian about how different religious traditions may play a role in influencing the way people relate to other animals, and with biologist turned wildlife filmmaker and writer Tom Mustill about what the latest advances in science are revealing about animals’ internal lives.

Tom Mustill is the author of How To Speak Whale: The Power and Wonder of Speaking To Animals. Find out more about his other work, including several films and a podcast, on his website. Thanks again to Tom for sharing his recordings of whale song with us for this episode.

For listeners interested in reading more about animal welfare, we recommend checking out Vox writer Kenny Torrella’s work. If you’re wondering where to donate to help reduce animal suffering, start here.

Also, here are two recent New York Times articles on topics related to this episode: