Church & Culture Podcast

In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a survey from Data for Progress, which zeroed in on the level of social activities that Americans have participated in within the last year. It seems the loneliness epidemic, announced officially by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023, has only gotten worse. So what kind of impact is this having on our culture?Episode LinksThe results of this survey prompted Dr. White to write a recent blog called “Still Bowling Alone,” which you can read on Church & Culture HERE. The title of that blog was inspired by a book (also referenced in today’s episode) by Robert Putnam called Bowling Alone. Dr. White also mentioned an article written by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic titled “The Anti-Social Century.” The subtitle of this article is very telling: “Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.” You can read that article HERE. Both Putnam’s book and Thompson’s article help to make the argument that this trend of isolating ourselves is nothing new. But the ways that the Internet and the rise of all things social media have fueled this isolation are clear.There are several articles that we want to share with you for some more background on today’s conversation. The titles serve as links if you’d like to check them out:James Davidson Hunter, “The Third Founding Declaration,” The Hedgehog Review.Colleen McClain et al., “Online Community and Connection in America,” Pew Research Center.“Decline in American social activities,” FlowingData.Megan Fowler, “In Christ Alone: Most Believers Say They Don’t Need Others for Discipleship,” Christianity Today.Diana Aguilera, “The Truth About Online Lying,” Stanford Magazine.Finally, as Dr. White mentioned, there can be amazing community found online, including within the life of the church. This idea was what inspired his latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age. You can find that book on Amazon HERE. And if you want to see an example of Mecklenburg Community Church’s online community in action, we would encourage you to check out the Online Campus.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.

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 LinksAs 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.

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 LinksDr. 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.

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 LinksAs 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 CandidatesCCP129: On the 2024 Election ResultsCCP112: On January 6 and the Fastest Growing Christian Movement in AmericaCCP83: On Christians and GovernmentCCP82: On Christians and PoliticsAbove 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.

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.