Religion and Spirituality (Video)

The modern world is not disenchanted. On the contrary, it is full of gods and heroes and myths and magic. In this talk, Philip Gorski sketches out a new narrative of Western modernity that can account for this state of affairs: the fragmentation of the sacred. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39810]

As part of a special series celebrating the legacy of humanist and professor Walter H. Capps, this program examines Capps’ scholarly contributions and the study of religion today, featuring renowned scholars of religion who were Walter’s graduate students: Tomoko Masuzawa, Professor Emerita of History and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan, Julie Ingersoll, Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Florida, and Sarah McFarland Taylor, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Northwestern University. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39707]

As part of a special series celebrating the legacy of humanist and professor Walter H. Capps, this program examines Capps’ scholarly contributions and the study of religion today, featuring renowned scholars of religion who were Walter’s graduate students: Edward Linenthal, Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana University Bloomington and Wendy M. Wright, Professor Emerita of Theology, Creighton University. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39706]

In this program, Lerone Martin, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, discusses his recent book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover, which reveals how Hoover and his FBI teamed up with leading white evangelicals and Catholics to bring about a white Christian America by any means necessary. His research draws on thousands of newly declassified FBI documents, including a civil lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for FBI files on Billy Graham. Martin takes readers from the pulpits and pews of small-town America to the Oval Office, and from the grassroots to denominational boardrooms. In this talk, Martin transforms how we understand the FBI, white evangelicalism, and our nation’s entangled history of religion and politics. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 39809]

Prominent journalist E.J. Dionne, known for his op-eds in The Washington Post and essays in Commonweal Magazine, advocates for bridging societal divides by addressing issues like social isolation and loneliness. As part of the Burke Lectureship at UC San Diego, Dionne, a distinguished professor at Georgetown University, invites audiences to contemplate solutions transcending political boundaries. Joining Dionne is Dean Nelson, journalism professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, and Edward Watts, history professor at UC San Diego. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 39522]

What role do the humanities - history, art, philosophy, language, religion - play in the modern world? Prominent leaders of humanities organizations discuss the contributions of noted humanist and professor Walter H. Capps and the value of the humanities today. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39705]

Among the most striking exhibits at the Auschwitz museum are undoubtedly the mountains of loot stolen from Jews murdered upon arrival. Shoes, suitcases, spectacles, and more fill entire rooms in the former barracks of the main camp. Surviving the Shoah when their owners did not, they constitute a potent proof of the Nazis’ abiding concern with material gain. In this talk, author and historian Peter Hayes traces the ways by which the German corporate world became deeply implicated in—and in many respects indispensable to—the Nazi regime’s persecution, exploitation, and murder of Europe’s Jews. He argues that these developments stemmed inexorably from decisions made and actions taken by the nation’s leading corporate executives in 1933, at the very outset of Nazi rule. Hayes is author or editor of 13 books, including the best-selling “Das Amt und die Vergangenheit” and “Why? Explaining the Holocaust,” which has been translated into several foreign languages including German, Slovak, Spanish, and Chinese. He is currently completing (with Stephan Lindner of Munich) “Profits and Persecution: German Big Business, the Nazi Economy, and the Holocaust.” Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 38423]

Political philosopher and Harvard professor Michael Sandel talks about his latest book, "The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good?" Sandel reflects deeply on the fundamental moral principles behind our political institutions and democratic society. His books on justice, democracy, ethics, and markets have been translated into more than 30 languages. He has been described as “a rock star moralist” and “the world’s most influential living philosopher.” Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 38718]

Cornel West, Ph.D., is a prominent and provocative intellectual. He is Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary and has written 20 books and edited 13. He's best known for his classics, "Race Matters and Democracy Matters," and for his memoir, "Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud." His most recent book, "Black Prophetic Fire," offers an unflinching look at nineteenth- and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies. As part of the annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea, director of Point Loma Nazarene University's journalism program Dean Nelson has an engaging and inspiring conversation with West about his lifelong work as a theologian, civil rights activist and author. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37097]

Jesuit priest and editor at large of America Magazine, Father James Martin, SJ, talks about his personal journey ministering to the LGBTQ community. For Martin, working with people on the margins, walking with the excluded, has always been part of his Jesuit life. Early in his career, he began writing about the LGBTQ community because he felt these were people in the church who had very few people to advocate for them. Then, after the 2016 nightclub massacre in Florida, he was deeply concerned about the lack of public support from Catholic bishops which inspired him to write a book, “Building a Bridge,” emphasizing the simple but life-changing tenets of respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Martin is the best-selling author of “Jesus: A Pilgrimage, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything” and “Learning to Pray.” He has written for many publications, including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and he is a regular commentator in the national and international media. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37861]

David Beckmann reviews what we've learned from the Poverty, God & Politics series, talks about the students in his UC Berkeley class, and thanks the people—about 3,000 a week—who have watched webcasts and read the companion blog posts. He stresses the importance of advocacy with Congress this year and active participation in next year's elections. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36998]

Eugene Cho, president of Bread for the World, explains how this nationwide Christian citizens' movement repeatedly wins large-scale change for people struggling with hunger in this country and around the world. He concludes with Bread's current campaign to strengthen U.S. support for progress against child malnutrition worldwide.  Eugene is introduced by David Beckmann, who served as president until a year ago. These two leaders are different in many ways and Eugene is leading Bread for the World in new directions. But they are clearly united in faith and in deep appreciation for the people and congregations across the country who persistently urge their members of Congress to help hungry people. Eugene spoke to David's class in March 2021, an intense period of anti-Asian hate crimes. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36997]

John Carr provides a witty and incisive assessment of the liabilities and strengths of the Catholic community and its role in the politics of poverty. Its strengths include the leadership of Pope Francis and the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching. Carr is director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Teaching and Public Life at Georgetown University. Their educational programs are influential among Catholics in the United States and extend to thousands of people around the world. John previously served for more than two decades as director of the department that works on issues of peace, justice, and international development for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. John and David Beckmann have worked together for many years and are close friends. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36996]

Tom Hart, acting CEO and North American Executive Director of the ONE Campaign, explains how a strong advocacy community, including people of faith and faith-based organizations, have helped to reduce poverty, hunger, and disease around the world over the last generation. David Beckmann and Tom Hart open and close with lively discussions of two advocacy campaigns—debt relief for poor countries in the year 2000 and global child nutrition right now. Tom concludes with ambitious proposals to address the still-raging COVID pandemic and its consequences in low-income countries. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36995]

Many faith bodies and faith-related groups organize legislative advocacy. Amy Reumann, director of Witness and Society for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), explains how the ELCA's legislative advocacy is rooted in faith and theology, collective study of policy concerns, and ELCA ministries at the local, national, and international levels. The ELCA, its churches, and people are active in advocacy with state governments, the United Nations, and corporations as well as with the federal government. Whenever possible, they bring powerful decision-makers into conversations with the people and organizations that the ELCA and its people know through their on-the-ground ministries—homeless people, for example, or local churches in Central America. ELCA congregations bring people from all across the political spectrum together in worship, fellowship, and study. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36994]

Anna Eng, a senior organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), explains from experience how faith-based community organizing works. David Beckmann argues that the faith-based community organizing movement has contributed to increasing political participation among low-income Americans. He also talks about the Poor People's Campaign and the positive impact of social media. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36993]

Galen Carey, Vice President for Government Relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, explains the Evangelical movement, its ministries to people in poverty, and its relationship to politics. Then David Beckmann probes how it's possible that most White Christians, including a large majority of White Evangelicals, voted repeatedly for Donald Trump. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36992]

Eric Sapp, a pioneer in the use of digital communications for good purposes, explains uses of digital technology to repair the divide between the Democratic Party and many faith-based voters, to communicate with vaccine-hesitant people, and to counter Russian digital propaganda. He stresses the importance of really listening to people. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36991]

Henry Brady, Dean of Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, draws a data-based picture of how religious attendance affects politics. Churchgoers tend to be more charitable and engaged in civic organizations than other Americans. But they tend to prefer elections and negotiations to conflict and protests -- even though conflict is important in overcoming the country’s deep racial and economic divisions. In general, churchgoers are much more inclined than other Americans to be pro-life and anti-gay and, since the 1980s, increasingly inclined to vote Republican. Brady talks briefly about his own religious and philosophical development. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36990]

Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Founder and President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), explains the religious and political diversity among Latinos. Although Latinos are an important source of support for immigration reform, it is not a top priority political issue for most Latinos. Salguero explains how NALEC has amplified the voice of Latino evangelicals on immigration and other poverty-related issues. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36989]